Things Change
by JamesSunderlandsPillow
Summary: After four years away from one another, Linka Loud and Girl Jordan reunite in Great Lakes City. (I do not own The Loud House) (Cover Art by Extricorez).
1. 2023

_**Then**_

Linka had just gotten out of after school detention. Apparently, Mrs. Johnson did not appreciate her listening to Preston Garvey prank calls through her earbuds during class.

Funnily enough, not only did she spend detention resuming her YouTubey merriment without disturbing a sleeping Ms. Clifford, but she also texted Girl Jordan during the whole stupid thing.

She was even saved in her contacts as "Girl Jordan," because it was just too funny not to. It was always fun thinking of new ways to belittle and demean her, even when she would virtually have no way of ever knowing about it.

Upon dismissing herself from the cold and drab windowless dungeon of a detention room (because Ms. Clifford couldn't be bothered to wake up at 4:20), she kept texting Jordan until she made it outside of the school. Claudia wasn't there that day due to having a Loki/Bebe induced panic attack, which meant two things for Linka Loud.

One, she might get away with pocketing the five bucks she still owed her

And two, it would just be her and Jordan walking home together.

Linka couldn't help but feel both excited and petrified at the prospect.

" _Okay… So how will we play this? Should I just bring up the last SpongeBob meme I sent her? Should I make fun of her and say she's gay with Stella?... Maybe I'll tell her that thing Abby wrote about her… just to screw with her,"_ she thought to herself.

" _Gah! Why am I even thinking about this so much? We're just walking home together! Why do I have to be so weird?"_

She was just about to respond to Jordan's last text, one of her famous Ace Savvy fan art spams, when she realized that Jordan was coming around the bend. Like… walking over to her.

While the other girl looked as cool as a proverbial cucumber, Linka had to do everything in her power not to look all wide-eyed and flustered like the total nub she was. So, she just didn't say anything at all as Jordan took her place beside her.

And Jordan… said nothing. She did nothing. She just walked. Beside her. Silently. Eyes forward.

Leaving Linka's heart and mind to race faster than Butch Hartman running away from gay thoughts.

Sweat beads started to fall from her brow as her chipped tooth chafed against her lip.

" _This is… This is weird. She's just screwin' with me, right?"_ she thought regarding the perpetual quietness. _"She's not like, mad or anything. She'd be ranting if she was. So what is this? Some like, new way to mess around?"_

" _Well I don't like it! It's weird! It's awkward! But if I say something, than I'll just make it weirder and awkweirder- I mean awkwarder- I mean… Gah! Why am I so awkweird?!"_

Despite becoming very uncomfortable with this unique brand of adolescent angst, she played along. The only indicator she gave Jordan that any of this was bothersome were little glances from the corner of her eye, just brief enough to see her softly smiling face.

" _You bitch."_

Eventually, Linka devised a scheme to get back at her. Two could play at this game. In fact, she was very proud of it. It was something Levi would come up with, because it was friggin' brilliant.

While walking, Linka started staring directly at her. She just kept her eyes on her until she saw Jordan sneak in one of the same quick glances she gave her first.

" _Oh, I got her now,"_ Linka thought.

She started stepping in front on Jordan, and their feet almost collided with the peculiar side step Linka did with her normal sized feet. They were _normal,_ dang it.

Jordan tried to act like it didn't faze her, but a little purse of the lips made it obvious she was having fun.

"Don't look at me," Linka finally said to break the silence, all while getting within inches of her face.

"What?" Jordan guffawed, failing to continue her playful pretense.

"You're looking at me. Stop it," Linka answered, an amused little smile creeping on her face.

Jordan was stunned. Linka had turned the tables on her. _She_ was supposed to be making a fool of Linka, not the other way around.

"You're high," Jordan simply rebutted, trying to look away from Linka's piercing gaze.

"The whole point of 'don't look at me' is to not look at me. Why do you keep looking at me?" Linka teased. Every time Jordan would move her eyes though, Linka would step between their trajectory.

"You're such a nub!" Jordan cried, trying to hide the smile of her own as she shielded her eyes.

"Can't do that!" Linka blurted out. "That's cheating!"

"What? You just-?" Jordan begins before becoming flustered and uncovering her eyes. "You know, this is why nobody likes you. Or your old people feet."

"I thought I had old people hair and big people feet?" Linka snidely riposted.

Jordan soured her face. "You know, I bet they're all old and wrinkly, too."

Linka nodded. "Impressive. Not _only_ do you spend an awful lot of time paying attention to my feet, but you'realso… _still_ looking at me!"

Jordan raised a finger and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, she just crossed her arms, and donned a reluctant grin.

"You know what? I'll let you have this one. But only because I wanna talk about me now," she said.

"Nah girl, I won. I'm just walking these big old people feet home now," Linka teased before pretending to walk away.

Jordan didn't budge though. She just rolled her eyes with the same smile on her face as Linka turned back to rejoin her.

"Fine. I guess I'll pity walk with you so you don't feel like a loser by yourself," Linka joked.

Jordan put on a mock thinking face. "On second thought, I'd probably look cooler by myself than with you."

"Awesome. I make you look bad. Even better," Linka said back, and the two of them just smiled at each other for a moment as they continued walking side by side.

"So, what'd you wanna talk about? Linka asked, almost sincerely.

Jordan's smile waned, and her steps got slower. Linka followed suit as she realized, maybe something was wrong.

"I… I have to tell you something," Jordan began, her melancholy eyes falling to the concrete sidewalk.

"Uhm… Okay? Sure," Linka responded as her heart beat faster.

"Linka…" Jordan continued.

"Don't look at me."

A sly smile grew on her cringey face, and Linka's nervousness was replaced with the odd coupling of embarrassment and amusement.

"You're trash," Linka quipped as she tried looking away from her. Just as Linka did to her before, Jordan now did everything she could to step into her line of sight.

"You're looking at me. Stop it," she'd egg on. "I see your enormous bug eyes. Whatchu doin' fam?"

Linka just played along, trying not to look, trying not to laugh… and failing at both.

"I have something to tell you too, Girl Jordan," she followed, emphasizing the demeaning 'Girl' label. "Vampires hate you. Griselda told me."

"Oof. At least I don't talk to vampire busts," Jordan joked back, still trying to make Linka look at her.

"Just creepy drawings and stories from internetz loserz?" Linka riposted, still trying not to look back.

"No genderbent fan art for you, now," Jordan said. "I talked to Lars. Your brothers hate you. Your parents hate you. And they want you to live outside so they can sell your furniture."

"Gasp!" Linka said aloud. "Can I have Ol' Sloshie?"

"Nerp. I needz him since we won't be friends no more."

"Says something gay about how you admitted we're friends," Linka joked, still trying to evade Jordan's eyes. "And why are you talking to Lars? Do you like eight year old boys?"

Jordan soured again. Linka wasn't losing steam yet. "At least Lars doesn't always _look at me."_

* * *

 _ **Now**_

Linka's reminiscing was halted by the feeling of the bus coming to a screeching stop. She was lucky enough to have her grip on the handrail, or she and her textbooks would all be falling to the floor.

The strangers around her begin filing out of the bus, and she convalesces enough to regain her bearings and join them all in exiting.

Upon stepping her sleek new high tops on the pavement, the ones that match her Ace Savvy jacket, she can't help but lose herself for a moment. Maybe it's because her busy day at the academy drained her and just made it hard to think, or maybe it has something to do with how she's still adjusting to the pace of Great Lakes City. Either way, she has to shake herself of her fish out of water mentality and get with the program. Groceries won't buy themselves, unfortunately.

What really stinks is, it's already going on 5:00pm, and her dorm is another two bus rides away. So much for going home and taking it easy, but alas… all she had were corn chips and expired bread and milk at the house- er, room. Even if she wanted to try and fuel herself on nothing but Fritos for the next day, it simply wasn't feasible.

That, and she just loved food too much. It didn't help that she dreamed about pop tarts last night either. Jordan was right, she was a fatty.

Jordan… Linka had thought about her a lot today for some reason. It had been four years since they seen each other, Linka recalls as she walks through the other pedestrians on her way to the market. They promised to stay in touch, but… that just didn't happen.

It sucked, too. Jordan was a really great friend. Sure, they got into a fist fight over who was cooler between Goku and Vegeta when they were twelve, but that only made their bond stronger.

That was… 2017. Yeah. Six years already.

"Dang…" Linka uttered to herself.

She sighs. She misses Jordan. And right now, she misses her family in Royal Woods. But they were all going to Lynn's latest lacrosse game in Hazeltucky, and she had already texted, called, and video chatted everyone in the family _at least_ once today. She was even starting to annoy herself.

She misses Claudia too, but she's at her weekly appointment with Dr. Lopez. God bless that woman. She kept little Ms. McBride her level headed valedictorian self in even the toughest of times.

Really, Linka just feels alone, hungry, and all around crummy. And the worst part is...

It's only Monday.

Luckily enough, she finds herself approaching the market, and it's just seven after five.

" _Good. I might be able to make it home in time to… eat a tub of ice cream and cry myself to sleep…"_ she only somewhat jokingly thinks to herself.

She steps inside the store, and looks through her purse for her grocery list. She was the weirdo that hand-wrote a list instead of saving a note in her phone, mostly because she didn't trust herself not to run it dead in trig class. Which… was the case today.

" _I should save a little battery at least. Just in case someone tries to call,"_ she wistfully thinks.

She shakes her head as she finds herself a cart. "Come on Linka… Try and think positive thoughts at least. Things aren't so bad," she says aloud, earning herself a strange look from an older gentleman. She just nervously smiles at him though, and he just scowls as he goes on his way. She does the same.

She tries to focus on her menial shopping and not how tired and lonely she is, which provides a well enough distraction, actually. Fancy that!

In fact, she actually finds herself sort of smiling and humming along to the song faintly playing over the PA system. Dang, she really wished she knew the name of the song too.

It was such a nice song… From the shredding of two guitars dropped to their lowest tunings, the conviction of compunction in the singer's voice…

"Oh! There it is!" she blurts out as they break into chorus. She can't help but sing along.

"I can see it as you turn to stone, still clearly I can hear you say- don't please, don't give up on me, two weeks and you ran away!"

More strange looks, this time from two sketchy looking, tall, _muscular_ girls.

" _I doubt they go to GLA,"_ she thinks as she decides to clam up and focus again on her shopping.

As she goes down the frozen foods aisle, she looks into her purse for the aforementioned shopping list. It somehow got lost in the confines of the seemingly bottomless bag, and she has to burrow through like some sort of-

"Bun Bun?" she voices as she discovers her favoritest stuffed bunny hiding in the bag. "How did you get in there?" she asks as she pulls her out by her lucky foot.

She hears some snickering, and turns around to see Old Man Scoots. The gimp laughs into his hand, and shakes his head as he scoots himself along.

Linka just frowns as she places Bun Bun safely back inside her bag. "Don't worry about him, Bun Bun," she tells the doll before going back on her way, hoping she can just remember what the heck she wanted to buy from here.

She doesn't even realize the two tall, muscular girls creeping a concerning distance behind her.

* * *

Linka makes her way out of the store with a hefty bag of groceries in hand. It's times like these she really wish she had a car of her own.

"What the heck is Old Man Scoots doing in Great Lakes City anyway? Dude really gets around for a… uh… supercentenarian?" she speculates.

She gets a firm grip of her bag with her right arm, and maneuvers her left hand to get her phone. _Shockingly,_ she has no new messages. Oh well. At least shopping only took…

"Half an hour. I think that's a new record," Linka proudly thinks aloud as she reads the time.

As she puts her phone away and tightens her grip on her groceries, she can't help but feel a sort of chill run down her spine.

She turns her head to attempt a nonchalant look back, and sees two familiar faces walking a few yards behind her through the crowd of other faces. The two troublesome looking girls from the market.

She simply turns her head forward again, hoping they didn't notice her. She has pepper spray in her purse just in case something would ever happen; having five older brothers meant she'd be well educated on various forms of self-defense. Heck, Lynn Sr. even showed her how to knock someone out with a cowbell once. Granted, it was on himself, and he was concussed for a week afterwards, but still.

Nevertheless, she hoped and prayed nothing like that would ever happen, especially within her first month living on her own in the city.

So, she keeps moving forward, despite the dread she truly feels in her hammering heart, sweating palms, and tightening throat.

She turns around the bend leading to the next bus stop, and sees a cozy little waiting bench to rest herself on until 5:50.

There are two other people sitting on the bench, and they exchange soft smiles with Linka as she takes her place on the bench with them.

She takes a deep breath as she sets her bag of groceries on the ground, and then her purse. She makes sure to position it to where she could easily access her pepper spray if need be, assuming she could find it in her ridiculously spacious bag.

She looks to the where the building meets the curb, blocking any view of the sidewalk she came from. The bulky girls don't come around, thankfully.

Linka sighs, and decides it's not worth worrying about. Instead, she pulls out her phone again, haphazardly catching eye of Bun Bun resting in her purse.

" _Heh, I'd still love to know how you got in there, Bunny. I guess I can always rely on you to be there for me,"_ she thinks with a smile before turning her attention back to her phone. Still no messages, as expected, but she still needs to double check the bus schedule.

While scrolling along the page, that same familiar chill travels up her spine. She looks to the curb once again, but still, no ne'er-do-wells. And yet, she feels the chill, almost like someone is hovering over her.

She turns around, and sees the aforementioned girls towering over her. It makes her startledly jump forward, grasping her chest out of fear.

For a moment the two girls just stare at her, not even minding the other two bystanders, who apathetically keep their eyes fixed to their phones and pretend nothing is happening.

Linka just stares back with the same anxiety as before, almost too stunned to say anything.

But for better or worse, she spits out some words for the threatening strangers.

"Uh, hey guys! Wh- what's up?" she asks with a conspicuously nervous smile.

The girls smile back with deviously arching eyebrows.

"Nice Ace Savvy jacket," the one on the left comments. She is a dark complected girl with black bangs that cover her eyes similarly to Lars.

"Yeah, looks expensive," the one on the right adds. She has a mullet. It's 2023, and the chick has a mullet. Also, she's missing a tooth. But the mullet?!...

Linka tries to fix her posture in the face of the much stouter girls. It wasn't like they were definitely making fun of her. Maybe they were sincere?

Maybe they just want to compliment her style as they wait for the bus?

"Uh… thanks?" she musters out. "I think I saw some in your size at the mall. You wear an extra large, right?" she asks, cramming her foot in her mouth and realizing all too late.

The comment does not amuse them. They step forward towards Linka, imposing their much scarier stature over her. Without another word, Mullet snatches her purse as Bangs stonewalls her.

"Hey! Put that down!" Linka cries.

"Can it, granny. Your mommy and daddy can just buy you a new one," Bangs sneers.

Mullet queerly eyes the purse upon picking it up though, much to her companion's chagrin.

"Dude? What are you doing?" she bluntly asks.

"Is this…?" she voices as she pulls out Bun Bun by her foot.

The two girls meet each other's eyes before directing them back to the dismayed Linka.

Then, they burst into laughter.

It's bad enough the intimidating girls have her livelihood and her only line of defense hostage, but now they're laughing at her about Bun Bun while the other two benchwarmers do nothing to help.

Not much gets to Linka, but she has to draw a line somewhere.

"Give that back. _Now!"_ she sternly demands.

Mullet and Bangs both scowl at the snowy haired teen. What sudden confidence she projected escapes her, and her fight reflex gives way to her flight reflex as they each get within inches of her face.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do if we don't?" Bangs says with a snarling sneer.

Linka is paralyzed as she meets her eyes- or bangs really. But she catches just the faintest movement from the corner of her eye, and looks to Mullet.

The muscled broad wraps one hand around Bun Bun's arm, and another around her leg. Then, she begins to tug, all while wearing a similarly sinister smile.

"Stop!" Linka yells, tears welling in her eyes now.

"Heh heh… Sorry, Bunny. You're just making it hard to find the good stuff," the bully quips.

"Yeah, seriously. Next purse you buy, maybe get one with more compartments," Bangs comments, which just annoys her literal partner in crime.

"Just shut up and grab the bag too. Food is food," Mullet orders.

"Why are you doing this?! I didn't even do anything to you?!" Linka cries.

"You're an easy target. Deal with it," Mullet answers.

"Yeah. Welcome to Great Lakes, loser," Bangs adds.

Mullet turns her attention back to Bun Bun, studying her with that wickedly evil grin, and…

"Hey!"

The parties all divert their attention to the source of the voice, stopping in their tracks.

A girl with a yellow T-shirt, blue skirt, knee high socks, and a familiar french braid is running over. It takes a moment for Linka to recognize her with all of her endorphins racing, but she captures the stranger's face soon enough.

"Jordan?"

Somehow, someway, Girl freakin' Jordan was here. Much like Linka, she aged well. She was just a little taller, a little more womanly, and probably had a few new things to make fun of after four years.

She's racing over with a look on her face very much akin to the days of playing dodgeball in Coach Packowski's gym class, and she practically ignores the passing cars as she makes her way over to the group and steps right between Linka and the bullies.

Linka's jaw drops.

It's really her. It's really Girl Jordan.

"Get your hands off of Bun Bun!" Jordan yells at the skeevy chicks.

The girls just meet her with confused eyebrow raises, "Bun Bun?"

Jordan takes the moment to turn to Linka with a little smile. "Hi Linka," she casually greets before reverting her attention to the hostiles.

And all Linka can do is watch, tee-totally dumbfounded.

They shake themselves of their disbelief, clenching their fists and gritting their teeth at their challenger.

"You better take a hike if you know what's good for you, skeeter bites," Bangs taunts.

"Skeeter bites?" Jordan repeats before glancing at her bosom, and then angrily guffawing at the girls. "Listen here, Thelma and Louise; give us the bunny, and no one gets hurt."

Bangs laughs, but Mullet just sourly frowns. "Oh yeah? Big bet," she audaciously states.

Jordan narrows her eyes, and presses her hand against Linka's chest to scoot her away a few inches. "Stay back."

The taller girl takes a deep breath… then, she lets out a "Eeeyah!" as she jumps in the air and throws a spinning savate kick that connects with Mullet's jaw.

It's easily the coolest ding dang thing Linka's ever witnessed in her life, so much so that she really can't bring herself to react in any way, shape, or form that isn't standing there with her jaw agape.

Bangs does the same as Mullet falls to her knees, holding her tender cheek. As sick as Jordan's kick was, it only proved to be effective in stunning the girl.

Jordan belatedly grabs a hold of Bun Bun and tosses her at Linka. "Linka!" she shouts, and the white haired Loud is able to, from instinct alone, catch her stuffed bunny.

She meets Jordan with doe eyes, and finds that she is quickly snatching up the coveted bottomless purse.

"Run!" Jordan yells as her brown eyes meet Linka's, and with the grace of god, she is able to take the words to heart, and does as she was told.

She looks back at the bullies, and sees Bangs tending to Mullet, who is still on her knees.

"Go!" Mullet commands Bangs as she takes her time recovering, and Bangs makes like a banana and splits.

It's all happening so fast: the bullies, the Bun Bun, the purse, the Girl Jordan…

But even with all that, she's able to remember that her bag of groceries got left behind.

"My food, Jordan! I forgot my food!" Linka cries while following the other running girl.

"Worry about your ketchup chips later!" Jordan retorts, fleeing to only-she-knows where.

Linka just follows her, up until the girl with the French braid suddenly stops in front of a filthy white sedan. Linka bumps into her, staggering her a little.

"Yeesh, girl! I see you again for five seconds and you're already trying to cuddle?!" Jordan quips and she whips out a set of keys from her pocket.

She presses a button on its fob to unlock the car doors, and the sound of the locks releasing confirms their access to enter.

They both look back the direction they came, and see Bangs and Mullet still chasing after them. Serendipitously for the weaker duo, traffic has gotten busier, and it's slowing the bigger girls down.

"Linka!" Jordan hollers again, breaking her old friend from her trance. Linka looks back to meet her widened eyes. "Get in the car!"

Linka comes to, and hurries into the passenger side of the car. Both girls slam their doors behind them upon entering, and very soon after, Bangs and Mullet catch up.

They both slam against the driver's side window, peering inside with devilish expressions and growls through their teeth.

Jordan hurriedly locks the doors, and places the keys in the ignition to get the vehicle started.

The motor revs up, and Jordan turns to face Linka.

"Are you okay?" she intently asks her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Linka alertedly answers back.

"Good," Jordan simply responds before turning her attention to the windshield and fastening her seat belt. "Strap yourself in, Ace. We're getting out of here faster than a Roseanne cancellation."

Linka quickly gets herself buckled in, just in time too. Because almost immediately after she hears the sound of the belt clicking, Jordan smashes her foot down on the pedal of the car, speeding away from the scene and leaving the two deviant damsels in the dust.

The white haired girl looks out the back windshield at the two troublemakers. They're shaking their fists and having an all around conniption, which makes it all the more satisfying when Mullet trips over own feet trying to shove Bangs.

A little smile curves on the middle Loud sibling's face, and she turns back around to face forward. She eyes the stuffed bunny in her hand. Despite Mullet's needless cruelty to the doll, no visible harm seems to have been done. Another reason to smile.

She then looks to her side as she feels something brush up against her rib. It's her purse, the one with virtually everything important to her inside. Money, her license, her keys to her dorm… Another reason to smile.

Finally, she looks to the woman driving the car. And the driver looks back to her. She smiles, and actually lets out a laugh.

"Dang, Linka. You're even uglier than the last time I saw you," Jordan says.

Another reason to smile.

* * *

 **Hey there. Thanks a whole bunch for reading this.**

 **Okay, so one thing I want to make clear is that, with this version of the genderbent universe, only Girl Jordan and Mr. and Mrs. Loud aren't swapped. Everyone else is though. Clear as mud? Good. I mean… What would Genderbent Boy Jordan even look like? Guffaw.**

 **Follow eX3corez on Tumblr. Dude does some of the best TLH art, and does** _ **the best**_ **Linkas. Her look here was inspired by him.**

 **So, I've wanted to do something with Linka for a while now, and I finally came up with an idea I can sink my teeth into. (Where have I heard that joke before? Probably best to forget…)**

 **Anyway, I also wanted to do something yuri and fluff filled to commemorate my one year anniversary with the fandom, so this is what I came up with. Something sentimental and full of feels.**

 **I also wanna thank Sesquipedalian Numeral for beta reading this thing and helping me make it less garbage than it was. Now it's certified fresh on Lincoln Tomatoes, and it's thanks to him.**

 **Last thing, the song referenced was "Two Weeks" by All That Remains. Sick song.**

 **Thanks again for reading. And know that I actually will finish this thing haha. That's a Pillow promise, and you guys know I don't break promises.**

 **Anyway, thanks again, and I hope you will stay tuned:)**


	2. I Missed You

**Don't look at me.**

* * *

Linka gets lost studying her long lost friend's face. She's so… Girl Jordan still. So little has changed about her, not even her hair.

And yet… things are very different.

A drawn out moment passes before Linka even responds to Jordan's quip about ugliness. Yeah, that didn't change either.

"I can't believe it…" the white haired girl mutters with a look of disbelief.

Jordan's smile gives way to a guilty expression, and she quickly returns her focus to the windshield.

"Sorry. It was just a joke," she apologizes. "You actually look really nice. It's no wonder those girls were all over you," she adds, immediately regretting it. "...I'll shut up now."

Linka chuckles. "No, it's not that," she insists. "Thanks for the compliment though, you sissy," she razzes as she too faces forward.

The little smile on her face has developed into an idiotic grin. She hasn't felt so warm and so fuzzy since coming to Great Lakes City, and it's all because- for the first time in four stinkin' years, she has her best friend back.

She happens to rest eyes on Bun Bun in her lap, who she imagines somehow heard her own inner thoughts.

" _Not you, silly,"_ she mentally tells her _other_ best friend.

With the initial excitement of reuniting out of the way, it was time for the fun part. Awkward talking! Nothing as fun as beating one's way around bushes, stretching truths, jumping to conclusions, and dropping the ball. Yup. Linka would be getting a full workout this evening.

"So…" she begins. Great job, Linka. Ten out of ten. Just fall over and die now. Jordan will understand.

The other girl faintly laughs as she drives. "So hey; it's been a little while," she quips. She makes sure to pay attention to the road, but she offers Linka glances when she can. What a perv.

"It has. Four years, actually," Linka responds as she nervously eyes the floor board and preens a stray hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry I haven't checked in much," Jordan belatedly tells her. "Life just got busy and I'm a terrible person," she only somewhat jokingly explains. "I did think about you though. A whole heck of a bunch."

"Psh, after what you just did, you're forgiven for the past four _hundred_ years," Linka jokes. It leaves a bit of foul taste in her mouth though. Maybe she should have said something a little more sincere?

Jordan plays along though, albeit with some discomfort in her tone of voice.

"Even for being a flapper in my past life?" she rebuts.

Linka just smiles. She could say something to tease her back, and she really wants to. Just like old times.

But she also just wants to enjoy this. Four years is a long time, Leon learned to walk, talk, and stop pooping in diapers since then.

"How have you been?" she sincerely asks now, which makes her heart start pounding in her chest.

Jordan takes a second to collect her thoughts. "Uh… I've been good. Just been working and going to school," she answers. "...What about you?" she almost timidly adds.

Linka isn't so apprehensive to respond, despite the fluttering of the wings going on with all these butterflies.

"Oh yeah, you're going to GLA too, right?" she answers with a question.

"Yup. Full scholarship," Jordan says. She slouches over a little as her face grows crestfallen. "So I guess this weird conversation had to happen sooner or later, huh?"

Linka's excitement wanes from her lips again. "Yeah, I guess so."

And for a moment, nothing is said between the two.

Until Linka thinks of a perfect smooth recovery. _"Yeah! This will save this talk! I hope..."_

"That kick, though," she comments regarding Jordan's jiu jitsu on that Mullet lookin' fool. "That was so sick!"

"Wasn't it? I have secret powers. Radioactive spider and all," Jordan jokes with a little smile. "For real though. I've seen those jerks around. Hannah and Hawk I think their names are."

"Hannah and-?" Linka responds before Jordan cuts her off.

"Yeah, stupid names, I know. But I knew you wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't tell you," she explains.

After another moment to collect herself, she adds, "Sorry we couldn't save your groceries, though."

Linka looks all around, and sure enough, her rations for the week were forgotten at the bus stop.

"Dang it! I spent my whole allowance on all of that!" she cusses. She realizes she just said allowance out loud though, and quickly tries to remedy it in spite of the incriminating wince on her face. "I mean…"

Jordan laughs. "Hey, it's cool you still have mommy and daddy giving you an allowance," she teases. "I didn't even tell my parents I'm working so they'd keep shelling me out some dough."

Linka smiles. "You're such a piece of crap," she tells her in the most endearing way imaginable. "I thought about you too."

Jordan looks to her with a smile of her own, and for a little while, their eyes just connect. Yeah, Linka still feels anxious inside, but in typical Girl Jordan fashion, things are just easy with her.

GJ breaks away to focus on her driving again. "So, uh, are you in any hurry to get back to the dormitory?" she asks.

"Uh… I guess not," Linka cautiously answers. "I mean, we do have a curfew…"

"Relax, Rita. I'm not looking to take you night clubbing. Unless that's your thing?" she jokingly tells her friend. "No, the reason I was even out actually was to go get something for dinner. There was no way my fat self was going grocery shopping on a Monday night. What kind of idiot does that?" she quips.

"The idiot who gets mugged, apparently," Linka somberly admits, guiltily looking down to the stuffed bunny in her lap.

Jordan just looks at her for a moment with a serene smile resting on her face. "Hey. It could have happened to anybody," she encouragingly tells Linka. "I'm glad to see you're still hanging out with Bun Bun, by the way. You guys always were my OTP."

"You are such a nerd," Linka says as she amusingly rolls her eyes.

* * *

Jordan pulls her car along the sidewalk of a quaint little diner. Linka doesn't ask questions, she just silently stays in her thoughts as she follows Jordan's lead. She steps out the car, and makes sure her purse and Bun Bun will be safe under the seats.

"They'll be fine. I'm locking up," Jordan assures her as she presses the key on her fob to do just that.

Linka sighs with relief, and offers her friend a soft smile. Jordan reciprocates the gesture, and then makes her way for the door of the diner. _Heaven's Night,_ the sign on the door reads.

Jordan opens the door, and holds it open for her confidante with a warm inviting beam on her face.

"Well look at you… I guess you learned some manners in the last four years," Linka teases.

"I also learned how to throw those wicked spin kicks, remember?" Jordan reminds Linka with a sly sneer as she passes through the door.

Jordan closes it behind her, and the two girls make their way through the crowd to find an available booth. Just outside, the rain begins to drizzle, incidentally complementing the tame tune playing over the diner's PA system.

 _*My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why... I got out of bed at all.*  
*The morning rain clouds up my window, and I can't see at all.*  
*And even if I could it'd all be grey, but your picture on my wall.*  
*It reminds me that it's not so bad, it's not so bad…*_

In the time that they are seated and the cute redheaded girl with a name tag reading Jane takes their orders; Linka reflects on just how surreal all of this is.

" _This has to be a dream. Just this morning I was thinking about how much I missed having Jordan in my life, and here she is, right back in it. Like nothing ever changed."_

Jordan smiles at her as she rubs her arms to warm herself up a little. "Brrrrr! It's cold in here!" she complains.

"It is a little chilly," Linka agrees, although it's a lie on her part. The truth is, she's actually burning up in her jacket.

" _I don't suppose it would be too weird if I offered her my jacket. I mean… There was a time in our lives where we didn't just call each other nubs and skunkbags, and it has been a long time. She's grown up and matured like me. Probably."_

The white haired girl takes a deep breath, then takes the initiative.

"Uhm, here Jordan. You can wear my jacket," she offers as she begins taking it off.

"What? No. You're fine," Jordan insists. "I'll live, heh heh."

"I _am_ fine, thanks for pointing that out," Linka cleverly retorts. "Just take the dang thing. It's the least I can do after you saved my skin back there with those two hillbillies."

She has the jacket off and in her hand, revealing her pale bare arms. She holds it out for Jordan to take, and the brunette leaves her hanging for a moment before putting aside her stubbornness and accepting the stupid thing.

"I swear you better not have lice or something," she jokes as she takes it.

"Shut up," Linka simply rebuts, rolling her eyes.

For a moment, things are quiet as Jordan puts the red Ace Savvy jacket on, making sure to fix her braid behind it properly as she situates the thing on her person with a firm tug.

"Hmm, shocker. I look hotter than you did in it," she jokes.

Linka scoffs, but then just folds her arms. Maybe Jordan won't be able to notice how hard her heart is pounding right now if she does… even though she won't be able to anyway… But still… It _feels_ like it…

She tries to think of something smart to say back to the other girl's riposte, but she draws blanks. It's really hard to when she hasn't seen this girl she cared so much about for so long. Everything feels like it will just come out wrong.

She decides, maybe she doesn't need to one up her for once. Maybe it would just be better to be a good loser instead of a sore winner.

"You're right. You're a knockout," Linka says.

 _Aaaaaaand_ she regrets it. It just felt so idiotic coming out. _"Why did I say that? Stupid!"_ she cusses to herself.

Jordan smiles though, and her cheeks even turns just the faintest hue of pink.

"Well, aren't you a sweetie," she says, almost in a way that sounds full of disbelief. "Uh, just so you know though, you're paying for dinner."

Oh look, smart aleck Jordan is back.

"Uhh, no I'm not!" Linka blunty states. "I already told you I spent my charity case money on those groceries you failed to save, loser."

Jordan guffaws. "Hey! I tried my best! If it weren't for me you'd be lesbian chow right now," she jokes, inciting an actual laugh from Linka. It was too funny for her not to break.

"Okay, you're right. God bless you, Girl Jordan."

"Yup. I'm an underrated hero," Jordan brashly says as she leans back. A wistful air comes to her though. "Girl Jordan… No one's called me that in a long time."

Linka's smile wanes slightly as she rests her arms on the table now. "Well… Insert coffee shop meme here," she quips.

Jordan amusingly huffs as she just eyes a fascinating spot on the table before looking to Linka's freckled face once more.

"So, it _has_ been a while," she begins. "Tell me. What brings you to Great Lakes City?"

"GLA, of course," Linka answers. It doesn't matter what she says or how she says it though. She feels like an ass the moment the words leave her mouth.

And yet, Jordan never gets upset. She just always seems happy to even be here, which is never a bad thing.

"Great Lakes Academy, of course…" Jordan starts. "But why? What made you wanna leave home?"

"I didn't _want_ to leave," Linka insists before letting out a listless sigh. "It's just, GLA has an awesome photography program."

"Best in the state," Jordan agrees.

"Right," Linka simply says.

Jordan takes some time to think it over as she glides her finger around the rim of her drinking mug. "So… How are your brothers? Leon's what, four now?"

"Five, actually," Linka answers.

"Dang," Jordan almost regretfully cusses.

"It's fine," Linka assures her before she can beat herself up too hard. "I mean, with ten brothers-"

"I swear, if you say what I think you're going to say-" Jordan interrupts.

Linka grins. "Wouldn't trade it for the world."

Jordan dramatically slouches in her seat as far back as she can, and lets out a hardy groan. "Uuuuuuugggggghhhh! You're the worst."

Linka chuckles to herself. "I pride myself on being an abysmal human being."

Jordan quickly fixes her posture. "You do that well enough I suppose," she responds. "How's the 'rents? They still together?"

"Wow, cynical," Linka comments.

"Valid question in this day and age," Jordan argues.

"Fair enough," Linka concedes. "Yeah, mom and dad are still together. Man… I really hope I find what they have someday. They're amazing."

"Bluck. Commitment," Jordan wisecracks. She seems to have soured herself with the remark though, and thinks of how to take it back. "Uh… You're right though. They are amazing. I miss them."

Linka sighs. _"I missed you,"_ she _desperately_ wants to say. But she won't. She can't.

Instead, she decides it's best to just change the subject. Sort of.

"What about you? What are you studying at the academy?" Linka asks her friend.

"What? Oh. Marketing," Jordan answers, somewhat taken back. "I mean, I'm getting all of my gen. ed. crud out of the way first, but still."

"Right," Linka agrees. Jordan never was one for talking about herself. She should've remembered that. Years away from talking about Ace Savvy, Dairy Land rides, and what kind of Kaiju monsters Ms. Clifford resembled made her prone to learning about everyday adult chatter, something she honestly didn't care for then, but sort of got used to now. It was almost easier to talk to complete strangers than it was good friends on some days.

What was weird was, Jordan was somewhere in the middle now.

Fortuitously, the cute ginger waitress arrives with their food. Awkward conversation would at least have a refresh within short notice.

The blue eyed redhead sets their entrees down on the table. Jordan settled for a nice chicken pot pie that looked like something out of a freezer, and Linka was the weirdo who ordered waffles and sausage links at this hour.

"Yeesh… Some things never change," Jordan teases regarding her choice of meal.

"Heh heh, you know I love waffles," Linka weakly replies.

No, some things never change. But some things do.

For the most part, the rest of their meal is eaten in silence. They make the sporadic comments about how terrible their food is, which, was mostly for fun; but also sort of true. The diner is pretty dreadful too. And the music they play.

It really is a one big blast of nostalgia for Linka. Here she is, sitting with her best friend from elementary school, eating the same foods they loved while making fun of everything and everyone like 2018. Heck, Jordan even still wore _bows_ in her hair.

But it wasn't nostalgia. It was… something new. Something weird. Jordan was the same, but there had to be new things about her. A lifetime worth of conversation could be had over what she had been up to since leaving Royal Woods back then.

Whether or not it would happen though was far from certain. There were no guarantees when it came to Girl Jordan. That was the bitter pill Linka had to swallow the day she learned Jordan would be leaving her.

Even so… She couldn't be mad at her about it anymore. At least, she had to be numb to it. What was the point of being so upset? People came and went. Come and go.

"Linka?" Jordan says, breaking the other girl of her borderline nihilistic thoughts.

"Huh?" she simply rebuts. _"Best to keep those ideas to yourself, honey,"_ she tells herself.

"Uhm… I have something to tell you…" Jordan says, a sullen look present in her brown eyes.

Or maybe there was something to these thoughts.

"Uh… what is it?" Linka speaks up, her pulse now catching up with her. What was so important? This wasn't a joke was it? it probably was… But if it wasn't, than what was it? What was worrying Jordan so much?

Was it bad? Was it… good?

…

Finally, Jordan answers.

"I missed you."

…

Linka can only blink. "Uhm, what?"

Jordan rolls her eyes with an almost embarrassed smirk on her face. "Yeah, yeah, I know… Don't ruin it…"

Linka squints her eyes, almost like the words spoken to her were somehow foreign.

For the first time maybe _ever,_ Jordan said something with some humility. Nothing mean about the size of her feet, or the color of her hair… Just, _I miss you._

It's weird, but… not entirely unwelcome.

"Well… uhm…"

"I said don't ruin it," Jordan says, playfully punching Linka's hand just a little, really pulling back on it.

Linka rubs the tender spot as she backs her hand away, and chuckles. "Fine… You ruin everything anyway."

Jordan slouches back in her seat, almost like she could curl up in fetal position.

"Ugggh! I left my wallet back at my dorm! I just now realized it!" she groans, but she makes it obvious she's faking with the scheming look in her eyes.

Linka slouches back in _her_ seat now. "Duuuuuuude, seriously?!" she groans, playing along.

"I'm sorry!" Jordan playfully apologizes.

"Well don't apologize to me!" Linka rebuts. "How are we gonna pay for this?!"

Jordan just deviously smiles at her. "We'll do our _Hit Me Baby One More Time_ routine on the manager."

Linka guffaws. "Are you serious?" she says regarding the message being conveyed to her by Jordan's sneaky little smirk.

"I'll pay you back when we get back to the dormitory! I swear on Griseldwin!" Jordan tells her.

"As impressed as I am that you still watch VoM-"

"Really?"

"No. No one cares about your stupid vampires," Linka ribs before getting back on track. "I legitimately don't have any money to pay for this. I have like… six bucks in cash in my purse!"

"Barnacles!" Jordan curses before donning a thoughtful expression, going as far as to rub her chin, alternating hands to really accentuate just how much of a comedian she can be.

"You're such an idiot," Linka finally breaks, actually laughing. Anyone else would just be fooling their self acting this way with her, but Jordan? She just _could._

"Maybe we can just explain to them that we don't have the cash to pay for it? I'm sure we'll be able to work something out?" she continues, still being an idiot.

"You do that. I'm just gonna leave," Linka tells her, pretending like she's going to get up and leave the booth, knowing full well she won't.

"That's fine. I'll just keep your jacket. And your purse. And your Bun Bun," Jordan plays along, stubbornly staying put.

"That's cool. I'll just go home and troll your SwiftyPic channels," Linka jokes.

"Tell everyone how much I like vampires," Jordan adds.

"Oh I will."

"Tell them you like that I like vampires."

"I'll tell them you think that I think I like that you like vampires."

"I think it's cool you like that I like that you like what I think is cool," Jordan finishes.

"Wh- What?!" Linka blurts out, failing to contain another laugh.

"Okay, take a chill, B," Jordan insists, pressing her bony finger to the other girls glossy lips to hush her. "Here's what we do. You get up and go to the car first. I'll wait a decent four or five minutes, and when I'm sure no one's paying any mind to us-"

"Jordan," Linka simply says. Which translates to, _the joke is getting old._

Jordan rolls her eyes with a cool little grin as she reaches for her own purse to get her wallet.

"You're lucky I'm such a generous and kind soul. Otherwise, I'd make you buy your own dang waffles," Jordan tells her

Linka pretends to petulantly fold her arms and get all huffy puffy. "Hmph. Way to make a girl feel special," she jokes.

Jordan stops. For a moment, she just looks at Linka with this… intentful gaze. It's like she's almost seeing her for the first time. Or she just has something in her teeth…

"How's this? I think you're the prettiest girl I know," she says.

What… the… heck?

Jordan, _the_ Girl Jordan, the most notorious ball buster in the Great Lakes area… just called Linka _pretty?_

It absolutely stuns Linka. Where are the jokes about her ugly freckles? Or her cracked out tooth? Or- or… anything?!

But Jordan just keeps looking at her with the same gaze. At first, it's pleasant. Almost like, she's genuinely admiring the girl. But the longer Linka doesn't respond, the look becomes… almost sad. Like… like maybe she feels some of those same insecurities that Linka had been feeling all Monday, actually.

She snaps out of her stupor though, and finally says something in return. "Uhm… Thanks, Jordan. You're pretty too."

" _What?!"_ Linka thinks in a panic. _"Did you just call her pretty, too? How dumb are you?!"_

She feels herself _really_ warming up now, especially when she sees Jordan let out a "Pffffft."

"Oh, I know I'm pretty," she jokingly says. "But you're prettier. I always loved your white hair."

Linka scoffs. "Uh, okay? This is my first time hearing this?!" she asserts. "You always told me how my hair made me look like a grandma or Rose Wilson?!"

Jordan lets out a weak amused huff as she starts nervously rubbing her arm. "Well… I don't know. I thought I'd try being a decent human being for once," she says with a little shrug.

Was that the case? Linka knew that. But, why? Were they really so different now then they were so long ago? Does she ask her questions and get her answers? Or does she step too close to the fire and get burned?

However, much like before when things were getting interesting between the two, Waitress Jane makes her way over all smiles with a bill in hand.

"How did you guys enjoy your food?" she asks. "Those waffles sure looked yummy!"

Ginger sure had a slappable face right now. Linka looks to her, then back to Jordan, who wears a somewhat somber smile, then back to the smiling redheaded waitress.

"They were delicious. Thank you," she says with a bit of glumness to herself.

"Is everything okay, darling?" Jane asks, her smile fading for a frown.

"What? Yeah, everything was fine," she insists.

"Are you sure?" Jordan asks, conveying sincerity as her smile wanes now.

What was happening? One minute, everything felt like cloud nine. She had Jordan back, she was getting a meal from her, and even a free ride back to her dorm. She saved Bun Bun for Blarney's sake!

But then, the minute she tried to pass that untainted threshold… It just changed things.

Linka stops torturing herself long enough to address what's going on, and breaks from Jordan's almost agonizing gaze to acknowledge the hard working waitress.

"Everything is okay," she utters to the woman, but she can't help but fix her eyes back on Jordan.

And Jordan smiles again. What the heck?

"I think we're ready for the check," she says, coolly leaning on the table and resting her face on her hand.

And then, for a little while, she just looks at Linka, and Linka just looks at her.

At first, Linka feels uncomfortable. At any moment, Jordan could break out a good ol' fashioned "Don't' Look At Me," or a hardy laugh followed by, "Just kidding."

But, she doesn't. She just smiles at Linka, and her cheeks even pinken a little as she fixes her posture and snuggles herself in the red Ace Savvy jacket.

The discomfort causes such silence, but… it subsides. It gives way to a new kind of nervousness. One where Linka wants to smile back, but is afraid to.

Even so, without warning, her own nerves do it for her, curving her lips into a warm simper of her own.

And in this moment, the world just sort of stops around them. The last four years seem like mere seconds. They could be all alone in a place without time, for all Linka cares.

But all good things must end. Jane will come back, and Jordan will pay the check, and they'll load themselves up to get out of the tacky diner and out into the rain for the white car that is but a sanctuary. They'll drive away, they'll head home, say their goodbyes, and that will be that. Heck, it could be their last goodbyes for another four years.

It was depressing to think about for Linka Loud, but not so depressing that she would break over it. Really, she just felt lucky to be here in this cramped little booth with her cramped style being this close to cringey ol' Girl Jordan.

Four years was a long time, but again, it didn't matter. What mattered right now was, she felt good being here. She liked having Jordan around.

So, rather than letting everything else wrong with her Monday and the likelihood of her Tuesday, Wednesday, and Fourth of July being just as underwhelming as her trip to the grocery store…

She just smiles at Jordan, looking deep into her warm, almost golden brown eyes.

And while many things had changed, one thing hadn't.

Those eyes.

* * *

 **Heaven's Night is the name of a location in the best game ever. 4 million WLIIA points to whoever knows without Googling it.**

 **Today's subtle song reference, "Thank You" by Dido.**

 **Thanks as always for reading, and please stay tuned for more, true believers.**


	3. Overthinking

After eating their satisfyingly subpar meal at the quaint little diner, Linka and Jordan load back up in her little white car.

"Oy…" Linka groans as she assumes shotgun, "Much food. So fat," she jokes as she rubs her bloated tummy.

Jordan amusedly scoffs as she turns the keys in the ignition to start up her ride. "Yeah, you're the same Linka Loud from Royal Woods, that's for sure," she quips. Once the car is started, she does a little stretch before disrobing the red Ace Savvy jacket Linka lended her. "Here, lard-o," she teases as she carelessly drops it on her lap, all while wearing a familiarly taunting sneer.

Linka sticks her tongue out in response before the two ladies buckle their seatbelts and make their way onto the open road.

The drive through the city streets is rather quiet. Jordan concentrates on maneuvering through the hectic evening traffic, and Linka takes the opportunity to relax a little.

She checks her phone for any activity, and is surprised to see a few picture messages from her parents and brothers from Lynn's lacrosse game. Apparently, he won, which brings a smile to his only sister's face. The "we love you" messages sent from everyone help with that too. Too bad her phone is really close to being dead, or she'd make the effort to message back every single one of them.

She puts the phone away in her purse, the one responsible for her being here now, and then checks on her favoritest stuffed bunny.

" _You okay, Bun Bun?"_ she says in her mind. _"I hope so."_

With that, she leans back, and just lets herself rest as Jordan focuses on driving. The brunette isn't shy about expressing her road rage with various derogatory terms directed at the various other drivers, but Linka doesn't let it bother her. Even if it should.

Maybe it's the waffles settling in her belly, or the exhaustion of a busy day catching up with her; but she just feels at ease. She's safe here with Jordan.

She sneaks a little glance at her friend, who has her eyes diligently glued to the windshield as any good driver should.

In a weird way, she hadn't changed much at all. Taller maybe. Fuller in the face, sure… But, for the first time, Linka recognizes just how attractive she is. How were boys back at Royal Woods not crazier about her? It had to be the dodgeball lodging, because this girl was gorgeous.

Girl Jordan catches Linka staring at her, breaking her of her trance long enough to look away from the road.

"What? Think you could do a better job driving through this crud?" she quips.

Linka just grins, and turns to look out the window.

"You're fine."

* * *

"Hey, uh, you awake?" Jordan promptly asks.

It's a good thing too; because Linka was falling asleep. She shakes herself, "Huh? Whuh?" she lets out.

She meets Jordan with a baffled expression for a moment as the other girl responds with incredulousness, then a familiar entertained roll of the eyes.

"Sorry if I'm not one for conversation right now," Jordan says before scrunching up her face with mock confusion. "Did I just apologize to you? Eww."

Linka chuckles. "It's okay. I'm just tired after today… And don't ever apologize to me again… Unless you want me to punch your boob, _skeeter bites,"_ she teases.

"Guffaw," Jordan responds. "Your boobs aren't much, either. And don't forget; I could totally roundhouse you."

"Would you though?" Linka asks, the smile still encroached on her face.

Jordan thoughtfully studies her for a moment. "Probably not. But you probably deserve it."

"Well, you're probably right," Linka agrees. "Just promise me it will kill me if you do."

"Ow. Cynical," Jordan jokes.

Linka looks down to her lap. It was cynical, and of course she didn't mean it. But dang, life was hard lately. And with school getting progressively more strenuous, and losing time for friends and family that would all be living their lives without her…

She realizes, this must be how Jordan felt.

At least, she selfishly sort of hoped so. It would make resenting her leaving four years ago a little harder.

" _Now THAT was cynical…"_

With the moment's silence, Linka directs her sight out at the world beyond the glass of the windshield. It's darkening out now, and they're on an unfamiliar backroad.

She blinks as she tries to wrap her head around the changes, and then digs into her purse for her phone with its dying ass battery.

It's rolling around 8:30 already. Dang!

"Jordan… Who turned out the lights?" she thinks aloud.

"Huh? Oh. I took the long way home. You did say you weren't in any hurry to get back," she answers with little confidence.

"That's fine, I guess," Linka belatedly says with a little chagrin.

"I'm sorry," Jordan sincerely apologizes. "I just hated driving through that traffic. We'll be back at the dorms in like, twenty minutes," she assures her.

Linka takes a calming breath. "It's fine. Seriously. I really don't have much going on tonight," she explains, almost shamefully. "I'll probably just curl up with a comic and go to bed. I'd say I'd eat dessert, but…"

Jordan meets her with a sympathetic gaze as she lets those words linger.

"Sorry again about those two jerks. And about your groceries," she tells Linka.

Linka brushes her off with a careless wave. "It's fine," she says once more. "It could have happened to anybody."

Jordan carefully considers her rebuttal. "Well, I guess so. But you should be more careful."

"What do you mean?" Linka inquires.

"I mean, no offense, because I know you're new to the city and all; but stuff like this happens a lot. Especially to girls like you," Jordan answers.

Linka furrows her brow. "What are you saying? Like, I instigated it?"

"No, but you're just… _delicate,"_ Jordan tells her. "Like, I dunno. You carry around that big purse and wear those nice clothes, and people think they can take advantage of you."

She waits a moment before adding, "I'm just saying I don't think you should go out on your own anymore."

Linka can feel her heart starting to race with the sudden attack, but she tries to keep cool. _"She has a point,"_ she tells herself. Even so…

"Well… It's not like I have anyone. My brothers are miles away, I don't have a boyfriend, and I don't even have friends here," she tells Jordan.

"Well… I mean… What am I? Chopped liver?" Jordan cautiously responds.

It all catches up with Linka. Jordan was actually suggesting that _she_ could be the person Linka could rely on. _She_ could be the one to go the market with her, and be her friend, and be depended upon like the way things used to be.

Could she though? Sure, she was being nice now, and she did buy her that so-bad-it-was-good dinner… But… this was all moving too fast. The last four years happened. Jordan wasn't there. And now she just was again.

Finally, Linka breaks her silence. "No, you're not. But we also haven't seen each other in a long time."

Jordan just takes a moment to let the words sink in before responding.

"Yeah, it has been a long time… But, that doesn't mean we're not still friends?"

Linka sighs. "We are friends. But…"

She pauses. She can feel herself growing more anxious, almost like she has to build a birdhouse for Mrs. Johnson again.

"But what?" Jordan eggs on, all of the playfulness having escaped her now.

Finally, Linka just says it. "Things change, Jordan. We're different people now," she begins. "Over the last four years, you hardly made any effort to call or text. And when you did, it was just… weird. It didn't feel right."

Jordan narrows her eyes as she tries to wrap her head around what's being said to her.

"Okay?" she scoffs. "Uhm, you didn't exactly put your best foot forward either? You could've tried harder to stay in touch with me too, ya know?"

Linka weighs Jordan's argument. It makes her feel guilty, perhaps rightfully so.

"You're right, it was just... hard… You have to understand, one moment I had my best friend, and the next, I didn't," Linka defends. "And you just seemed like you were fine without me. I don't know. I guess I gave up trying at some point…"

Jordan says nothing for a moment. Eventually, she's able to muster something out, though.

"Hey, I didn't have to stop everything I was doing to help you out back there with Shrek one and two, but I did. And hey, I'm sorry that I couldn't just decide to not move with my parents, okay?" she excitedly retorts before hunching in her driver's seat, almost pathetically. "I guess this is a crummy way of trying to repay you for the last four years… But dang it, I'm trying…"

The words cut like a knife. _"Nice going, Linka,"_ she scolds herself. _"Way to just totally kill the mood."_

She sighs. Maybe there was still a little hope. Maybe this conversation just needed to happen so they could move past it.

"Jordan, I'm sorry," Linka begins. "I'm sorry for everything. For the way things happened, for always being a crappy friend, for not being there-"

"Linka," Jordan cuts in with a deflated tone of voice. "It's okay. I get it… I was angry too. I still kind of am, actually," she admits. "I hated leaving Royal Woods. I hated leaving _you…"_

She focuses solely on the task of driving now as she continues.

"You weren't a crappy friend. Far from it actually… Don't get me wrong; I was never one for these mushy kinds of talks. But… We had a lot of fun. You were one person in my life who always made me smile."

She actually looks to Linka now, who can only watch with a degree of apprehension as the other girls lays it on thicker.

"I guess I should've realized it wouldn't last forever…" she says, the somber air around her weighting the entire car.

She goes back to just driving, and Linka considers everything that was just said to her. No jokes, no teasing. Just a level of truth and sincerity that was foreign to the one she called Girl Jordan.

In a way, it was weird. It was strange. This kind of behavior would have made her cringe as an eleven year old Linka Loud.

But, today… right now… It feels right. It feels good. Sure, she could spoil it by saying something stupid about her knee high socks or the bow in her hair, but she decides to just… let this happen...

"I guess I should have, too," Linka admits. "I don't know. Things were just so much easier as kids. We didn't have so much…" she says, trying to find the best way to phrase herself.

Jordan cops half a smirk. "Existential dread and a feeling of never ending restlessness?"

Linka nods an almost impressed little nod. "Cynical."

"Thank you, I try my best," Jordan jokes before getting serious again. "Linka…"

The two girls share a mutual gaze now, and the somber air changes into something else. Something a little more clean, a little more intimate. Whatever it was, it was exciting for Linka.

"I'm glad I found you. I really am," Jordan finishes with a warm smile.

Linka smiles back. "Me too," she simply says.

The gaze lasts a little while longer, and it would seem Jordan tries to draw it out and savor as she slowly pulls herself away from it to return her eyes to the road. And even then, she has to look out the corner of her eye back to the white haired passenger, the same warm smile radiating on her face.

Linka finally looked away too as she wandered her eyes anywhere else. Things were different, sure. And they'd probably never be the same as when they were eleven or fourteen.

That didn't mean they couldn't be better though.

* * *

9:00 PM is looming as the two girls arrive at the girls' dormitory of Great Lakes Academy. The night has nearly fallen as the moon begins to shine brightly in the blackening starlit sky.

It's Monday night, so unsurprisingly, everyone else is inside, likely staring at computer screens and hoping their projects and assignments would just do themselves. Sadly, they won't.

Jordan locks up her pimpmobile, and leads the way for Linka to follow her with her notorious purse and fluffy bunny in tow. It's quiet, and it's quite warm for this time of night. No need for that Ace Savvy jacket in Jordan's possession.

Still, she'll need to ask for it back eventually, or simply hope that she'll offer to return it. The latter is optimal for a less awkweird experience.

Because, where was this all going? Was Jordan just going to act like they were the bestest of pals again and hold on to her jacket for a week? Did she think Linka wouldn't mind? Did Linka mind? Why was she worrying so much about a stupid jacket?!

"Hey," Jordan says to break the silence, as well as Linka's doubt induced trance.

She looks to the other girl, who is taking the jacket off now. Of course she is…

"Here, you probably want this back," she says.

Yes, it's convenient. Linka wouldn't have to worry (even more) about how and when she'd get her Ace Savvy jacket back, or what it would mean for their friendship. But, in a weird way, she was sort of disappointed. She'd still have to wait and see just what was happening here; what was going through Jordan's head, where tonight was going, where _everything_ was going!

Why though? Why was she so worried in the first place?

"Uhm, thanks," she says as she accepts her jacket back, and she ties it around her waist for safekeeping. She was suddenly feeling hotter. Definitely no need to wear it now.

When she looks back up to Jordan, she sees her making her way over to a nearby picnic table to have a seat. She… wasn't going inside?

Linka stands there for a moment, baffled and beside herself. For something as simple as coming home from a car ride, she's awfully flabbergasted right now.

Even so, what is she supposed to do? Come out and _say_ how she's feeling? _As if._

Instead, she somewhat nervously stands there, kicking up an untainted spot of grass beneath her sneaker and trying to think of maybe using her mouth words to engage in some conversation with her companion.

Luckily, Jordan speaks up first. "This is weird," she states as she coolly leans back against the table.

"Uhm… What's weird?" Linka timidly asks, internally praying for the best.

"There's no one else out here," Jordan answers, still facing forward.

"Oh," Linka simply rebuts, still feeling… awkweird…

Jordan finally looks to her again, and suspiciously squints her eyes to study her. "Well by all means, Girl Linka. Stand there by yourself all evening. No places to sit out here. Nope. No flat surfaces for your flat butt anywhere to be seen."

"Heh, sarcasm noted," Linka somewhat nervously says, but she puts her big girl panties on to go take a seat on the table by her friend… who just referred to her as "Girl Linka."

Jordan softly smiles as she does, and Linka can't help but feel a little flustered. They used to get this close all the time, and it was no big deal. But right now, it felt a little odd.

" _Maybe I'm just overthinking things like I always do,"_ Linka tells herself.

For a moment, the two girls are quiet. They simply look out to the night around them, taking in its serene splendor.

Maybe Jordan was tired. She didn't get to sleep in the car after all. Then again, maybe she had things or her mind. Maybe the same things as Linka.

But she still wasn't going to ask.

Even so, she could only handle the silence for so long. Maybe living with so many siblings in a place called the _Loud_ house indoctrinated her to appreciate noise.

Or maybe she just felt insecure about not being a good conversationalist.

" _Or maybe I really am just overthinking everything."_

She clears her throat, and begins to speak. "So…"

The ultimate icebreaker. They were certain to discuss all sorts of grand and interesting topics now.

"I was thinking," Jordan begins, almost disregarding Linka's _'So.'_ "What were things like after I left R-Dubs?" she asks, the soft smile she had waning from her face.

It wasn't the change of pace Linka was expecting, but she decides to roll with it. Anything to drown out the sound of crickets chirping.

She thinks over how to respond. Where did she begin? A lot of things happened. Luke hooked up with Carl Pingrey of all people. Zoey, Riley, and Lia all managed to get prom dates with girls they weren't related to. Leif had to have surgery for a cholesteatoma, and Loki had to have surgery for… his "bean toots" problem.

But would Jordan really care about those things? What if she was just asking for the sake of showing she actually cared? What if she didn't care? But then, why would she bother asking? What if she-

"Are you there, Linka? It's me, Margaret," Jordan quips.

"Huh?" Linka mumbles. "Oh… Uhm… I don't know…"

" _Wow Linka. You used people words. Congrats. You've earned a nice cry in the shower later,"_ she thinks.

Jordan is thoughtfully quiet again, but not for long.

"Did people talk about me?" she asks.

"Huh," Linka blurts out. She realizes all too late that it sounded a little rude, like she couldn't believe Jordan would try and ask a legitimate question about something besides VoM. But Jordan doesn't say anything, so she doesn't make a big deal of it either.

She finally composes a somewhat decent answer.

"Well, the girls asked about you sometimes. Steve did every now and then," Linka answers.

"That Otto kid always joked with Alex about 'shipping' us," Jordan recalls with some amusement.

"Yeah he did," Linka simply says, feeling her lips curve into a small smile.

"I probably should've given him a chance. He was cute," Jordan wistfully adds.

"You and everyone else thought so," Linka guffaws, earning an inquisitive look from Jordan.

Great. What did she say wrong now?

"Really? Did everyone include you, Linka Loud?" Jordan teasingly asks.

Linka feels herself blush a bit. Steve was a cute boy. A few years ago, she'd never admit that to Jordan, but it wouldn't hurt anyone now.

"It did," she answers, preening a hair behind her ear with a little fluttering in her heart.

Jordan just smiles at her for a moment, and then looks forward again. Deciding she's nice and comfortable, she lets herself lay back on the table to face skyward.

"Well. That's good to know. I was half convinced you're gay," she tells her.

Linka playfully scoffs. "Excuse you? If anyone's gay, it's you Ms. _'Look at all my Delinquent Art favorites of Griselda fan art.'"_

Jordan laughs at Linka's razzing. if there was one thing about Jordan she didn't have to worry about, it was her taking a joke.

The casual conversation helps ease the girl's troubled mind. Maybe there isn't so much to worry about and overthink after all.

With that, she makes herself comfortable too, and decides to lie back and enjoy the night sky with Jordan.

Linka rests her head on her hands, then glances at Jordan- who glances back, before doing just that.

The sky… it's beautiful.

"So… Let me ask you something else," Jordan begins, still looking to the sky just as Linka does.

"Sure," the white haired girl belatedly replies.

There is a pause on Jordan's behalf as well. "Did you have any boyfriends?"

It catches Linka off guard, so much so that she has to look back to the other girl again. Jordan looks back too, almost anxiously with her demeanor.

"Boyfriends?" Linka slowly utters out, carefully.

"Yeah. Boyfriends," Jordan repeats. "Not like, you know; just crushes or whatever. But like, someone special?"

"Well… Truthfully…" Linka starts, but before she can even muster any more words, Jordan cuts her off.

"I knew it. Canon lesbian confirmed," the pretty little girl with the bow in her hair ripostes.

She smiles a charming smile, the kind that lets Linka know she just wants to have fun.

So she just smiles too. "More like canon socially awkward," she admits, eyeing her feet so she doesn't have to look at Jordan anymore.

Jordan just looks at her for a moment before looking back to the stars.

"You'll find someone. You just need to give yourself a little more credit," she tells Linka.

She isn't even sure how to respond. Sure, Jordan was probably right, but that also meant she would have to make an effort to give a guy a chance.

It wasn't happening anytime soon. She'd thought about it enough to know she was content reading comic books and messing around on fandom pages during her free time.

Well… most of the time, anyway.

She wasn't so weird that she'd kill this conversation though. She was more tactful than she… gave herself credit for…

"What about you?" she chooses to respond with. "Any knight in shining Under Armour come your way?"

Jordan stays silent. She doesn't even offer the girl a glance.

Which, makes Linka nervous again. What did she say wrong? Did she not make it obvious this was all in good fun?

Finally, Jordan takes a deep breath, then begins.

"I just wish things would've been different, Linka. I thought about you every day. Heck… I was thinking about you this morning," she says with a little smirk.

It didn't answer Linka's question. In fact, it just added more.

But, it was fine. An effort was being made to open up. Linka wouldn't forsake that with everything today had thrown at her.

Especially considering she had thought of her just the same.

"Uhm… What were you thinking about?" she timidly asks.

Jordan takes another deep breath, and then spritely sits up. The way she jolts up so quickly startles Linka, and it's even weirder how Jordan just stares at her now.

She looks back to her with confused, concerned eyes. "Are you high?" she bluntly asks.

Jordan just smiles. It's a wicked smile though. The troublemaking one she'd don before a game of dodgeball, or before starting a food fight, or before… before…

"Don't look at me."

No way… She wasn't. Not now…

"What?!" Linka retorts.

"Don't look at me, Linka. Don't look at me," Jordan repeats, gluing her brazen brown eyes on her freckled pale face.

Yup. It was happening. A good ol' fashioned game of _Don't Look at Me._ Their last game was four years ago during a nativity scene reenactment of all things; one that saw Linka doing her best as Mother Mary not to look at bearded wiseman in Jordan. It was easily the hardest time she ever had not laughing in church.

It was a game where the rules didn't change, and they were simple. You don't look at the other person, and they make you look like an idiot all the while.

And while Linka invented the game that afternoon after detention, it was Jordan who became the champion of it.

WIth hawk eyes, she leans in close to Linka, mere inches to her face, boring a hole into her with her gaze.

Linka has to laugh. Jordan… was such an idiot.

"Are you really doing this?" she replies with a little grin, trying to look to her lap and not Jordan's buggy brown eyes.

"It's not up to me, Linka. It's up to you," she tells her. "Are you gonna look at me?"

Linka thoughtfully nods her head, and takes a breath. Defiantly, she turns her head opposite to Jordan, facing off into the night at nothing in particular.

Jordan playfully furrows her brow before lip syncing the words "It's on."

She jumps off the table, and hurries her way into Linka's line of sight. Linka looks away again, and Jordan just keeps putting her face into hers, all while repeating, "Don't look at me. Don't look at me, Linka!"

"Will you stop being a doofus!" Linka ribs as she tries looking away, but Jordan keeps finding her way into her bubble.

Finally, Linka decides to get off the table. Maybe she could escape her gaze by walking away.

Nope. Jordan just keeps coming after her, flashing her complexion as much as she can, to Linka's chagrin. The poor white haired youth finds herself spinning around like a weathervane. Everywhere she looks, Jordan's there, saying those same taunting four words.

"Don't look at me."

Yeah, it was ridiculous. But, she couldn't stop laughing. It was easily the most amusement she'd gotten since moving to Great Lakes City, and it was all because of stupid Jordan and stupid _Don't Look at Me._

"I'd look at you if you weren't so ugly," Linka tries to quip, but it was moot. Jordan had her in the palm of her hand.

"That's not stopping me, though. So don't look at me," Jordan rebuts.

"That makes no sense?" Linka guffaws.

"What makes no sense is how you wanna look at me. Don't," Jordan keeps going.

"Oh my gosh," Linka laughs, burying her flushed face in her hand as she continues trying to avert Jordan's gaze.

Unfortunately, all the laughter makes it hard for her to concentrate on activities of daily living, such as walking normally. She staggers, and ends up tripping over her own feet and falling into the grass.

"Woah!" she hollers.

"Linka!" Jordan worriedly cries, hurrying to her aid. She kneels beside her, and Linka picks her head up to rattle off some of the blow.

"I'm okay. Just… some annoying loser made me fall," she jokes while rubbing her head.

Jordan just sneers at her for a moment before extending her hand to help her friend up.

Linka accepts it, but Jordan doesn't pull. She just keeps staring.

Linka deflates. She knows what's coming…

"Don't look at me," Jordan says again with a shiitake eating grin on her face.

Linka concedes. She already had grass stains on her butt, what more did she have to lose?

"No you," she simply states, and it's enough for Jordan to take the hint. She had won. She could carve a mark of victory on her imaginary carving wall.

With that, she helps Linka to her feet, and Linka dusts herself off before fixing her posture and looking at Jordan.

She stands there with an endearing smile on her face, her glossy lips and irises now iridescent with the moonlight. Her hair looks golden, her teeth look pearly white. Her skin is flawlessly fair, and those brown eyes of hers look back to her in the most charming way. It all made it so easy to remember what she loved about her to begin with; she was just damn good company.

And it's like this for a short while. They had outgrown the laughter, but it didn't stop Linka from feeling this warmth inside of her. For the first time in a long time, she didn't feel alone. And for the first time in years, she didn't feel like Jordan was missing.

If anything, she felt like they were kids again. Laughing, playing, just enjoying each other's company.

But she also feels… like things were better. They had grown up. They could still do all the great things they did back then, but they could do more. They could talk about things, they could trust each other, they could just… look at each other the way they were now.

It's a new and exciting feeling Linka isn't sure she's ever felt, but she doesn't want it to go away either.

Eventually though, Jordan deeply inhales, then slowly exhales. She chuckles a little chuckle afterwards, and so does Linka, who also nervously rubs the back of her neck.

"So…" Jordan now says. Linka finds it somewhat funny, but she also isn't sure what to say back besides…

"So?..."

"We should probably get inside, huh?" Jordan suggests, still smiling.

While she was still uncertain about a great many things going on in her life right now, Linka was sure of one thing.

She could get used to seeing a lot more of Girl Jordan's smile.

"Sure. Lead the way," she answers.

* * *

 **No needlessly sardonic author's notes today. Just thanks for reading, and please stay tuned for more.**


	4. Stay

Linka didn't take much with her to Great Lakes Academy. She packed her clothes, her laptop, and a bookbag full of Ace Savvy literature. Everything else she bought in the city.

Being here with Jordan though, she thought a lot about a piece of home she wish she could have taken with her.

It was a novelty sign Rita bought at a yard sale, and it read the following: _A friend is someone who will come bail you out of jail. A true friend will be there beside you saying "Man, that was fun!"_

Every time she saw it, she couldn't help but think of Girl Jordan. She was just the kind of girl that didn't shrink in the face of a good time, and she was also very blunt with her words.

At least… when it came to Linka Loud.

"Wow. It's like someone robbed the great value section of Walmart and stowed it all away here," Jordan comments regarding the contents of Linka's pantry.

Linka was finally home after an excruciatingly long Monday. It could've been a lot worse, but it also could've been a lot better. Bun Bun was safe, she didn't get her purse stolen, and Jordan was here with her… She also didn't have any groceries.

"But then they let it all expire and go stale after eating fifty Nutella sandwiches," Jordan continues as she investigates the kitchen of her friend's dorm, noticing a half eaten jar of the stuff on the counter by a nearly finished loaf of bread.

That was Girl Jordan. Where so called friends would come and go, offering casual conversations about anything from movies to gossip, Jordan preferred systematically critiquing every imperfection Linka displayed like she was the woman of the hour at a roast.

Being the weirdo she was, Linka liked it that way. She also dished it out as well as she could take it when the opportunity presented itself.

Unfortunately, it was hard to find opportunity when Jordan was on a roll. Like she is now.

"Wow. I suddenly know what to get you for your birthday. A shoe rack," she starts. "Not because you leave your freakishly big shoes all over the place like some barn animal, but so your guests can have somewhere to sit besides the pitiful excuse that is your couch."

Linka was also getting a little hungry. She may have had a big dinner, but a Nutella sandwich did sound good right now.

"Seriously, where did you get that thing? Silent Hill?" Jordan jokes.

And she had to make sure she had everything in her purse. She'd checked a few times already, but after today, she was still a little neurotic.

"I feel like if I sit down on it; it will literally swallow me whole, and then regurgitate me."

Bun Bun was okay, that was a relief.

"The best case scenario is that it kills me. Then I won't have to see anymore of your crap dorm."

Linka was getting a little sleepy too.

"What's that smell?"

And tired of Jordan's snark…

"Jordan," Linka finally says, showing that she's unamused with and grimace at the other girl.

Said other girl meets her with brief incredulousness. Maybe she's running out of steam.

"It stinks in here!" she belatedly adds, imitating Rocky Balboa.

Or not.

Linka groans as she falls back on the floor she's seated on.

"What are you doing?" Jordan asks with a chuckle.

"Maybe if I just lay here and pretend to be dead, your tiny brain will be tricked, and you'll leave," Linka answers.

Jordan rolls her eyes. "Oh come on. You know I'm just messing around."

"I know…" Linka pitifully moans. "I'm just tired. And hungry…"

Jordan takes a melodramatic deep breath as she trudges over to the couch she said such lovely things about, and plops herself down on it. She finds the broken off clip of a mechanical pencil, and tosses it at Linka, who doesn't even respond.

"Well, I know you have white hair, but I'm not letting you go to bed early like some grandma," Jordan tells her. She then fixes her posture to sit up straight, and leans her elbows on her lap so she can look at her friend. "I can enable your eating disorder I guess, though."

"Pfffft. What eating disorder? Stomaching your crap?" Linka ripostes.

"No. The one where you stuff literally anything else in your face," Jordan answers.

"Insert obvious joke here," Linka utters.

"Come on," Jordan tells Linka, leaving over to coerce Linka into getting off the floor.

"Let me die in peace," Linka whines, trying to resist.

"Linka, I'm not gonna let you be a lame-o and sit around here all night acting like Lars," Jordan tells her. "We're going back to my dorm."

Linka puts aside her pseudo-petulance to get serious. "Really?" she asks.

"Yes!" Jordan responds, almost baffled. "At least there we can find something better to do than smell... whatever _that_ is," she quips with a complementing gesture.

Linka rolls her eyes, and considers what sort of derogatory thing to call Jordan. Maybe she'd attack her secret mole…

"Besides. You gotta eat something besides Nutella. We'll order a prizza or something," Jordan tells her as she stands back up to get ready.

Linka decides her mole isn't as important as food. "Alright. Prizza does sound good," she concedes.

A few halls down from Linka's room is Jordan's. The two girls walk together there, actually keeping their smart-aleck comments to themselves for once.

Normally, Linka liked to keep a comfortable distance between the people she walked with. She didn't even really appreciate Claudia or her brothers getting so close to her personal bubble.

But she didn't realize until she was halfway through the corridor that she and Jordan were walking side by side, a lot like they used to do when walking home from school.

They walked home from school a lot. And, bittersweetly, it was so long ago, but didn't really feel like it. At least not now, anyway.

They finally arrive to a door reading 127, and Jordan stops before it. She digs into her purse to grab a set of keys, and ruffles through them with squinted eyes.

"Uh… Let's see…"

Linka grins. It's always fun to see Jordan like this. For as much confidence as she projected, she was still capable of flaws just like everyone else. Such as taking forever to do menial tasks.

Linka lets out a mockingly loud yawn while doing a sardonic stretch, earning her a brief scowl from Jordan.

"Shut up. I have a lot of keys," she curtly tells her.

"For what?" Linka teasingly asks.

"Well, my car. My door… If I could ever find the ding dang thing," Jordan answers.

Linka feels a warm feeling come over her. "You said 'ding dang,'" she says with a smile.

"Yeah, I've always said ding dang. So?"

"Dad always says ding dang," Linka explains.

An unsure expression comes to Jordan's face as she momentarily pauses, and then she cops half a smirk before continuing. "Yeah. That was OG Lynn's thing, huh?"

The two fall into silence for a moment, and Linka just enjoys the warm, nostalgic feeling to herself. Jordan still said "ding dang…"

"I'll have to come see the Big Bald Head sometime," Jordan adds before proudly displaying the key she fought tooth and nail to find with a smile.

Linka just smiles back before the other girl turns around to unlock her door and open it for the two of them to step inside.

She does so, and swings it open to reveal the contents of her dorm with a sarcastically excited expression. "Tada!"

Linka just smiles at her silliness, and her unintentional display of respect for OG Lynn. "Yeah, you will," she tells her to respond to her previous statement.

Linka is first to make her way inside. She takes a second to look around at her surroundings and take them in. Much like her own dorm, it isn't the homiest place. Jordan likely had about as much time as she did to get settled in this semester with work, school, and trying to cram Fletnix and "prizza" in as much as possible. And in Jordan's case, cringey VoM fanfiction… _Gross…_

Still, Jordan had two things Linka did not have. One: a designated place to put shoes. Two: food.

"Mi casa es su casa," Jordan tells her guest before kicking her shoes off beside the door.

"Heh, I guess Ronaldo rubbed off on you too? Do you have any original material?" Linka quips while looking back to her.

"Nope. Steal everything from people on the internet," Jordan happily answers.

Linka giggles, and then takes it upon herself to take her own shoes off. She has to actually untie the ding dang things though, so she takes a seat on the floor and gets to it.

"Those really are some sick kicks," Jordan compliments while stepping over Linka, brushing her leg against her forehead on purpose like a fat stinky jerk. That was just Jordan though. Even the compliments had to have some sort of ribbing to them, verbal or physical.

Linka just blows to fix her hair, and focusing on untying her Ace Savvy chucks. "Thank you, Jirl Gordan."

"My pleasure Linka Loud," Jordan responds as she steps into the kitchen to plug her phone into the charger. She then starts scrolling through it, leaning herself over the counter as she does.

"So what do you wanna do for dinner? I'm kind of in the mood for Chinese, actually," Jordan asks.

"Bluck! You know I hate Chinese!" Linka complains.

"Oh, okay. You'll eat peanut butter sauerkraut sandwiches, but not Chinese?" Jordan guffaws.

"No way! I'm not eating cat and dog," Linka jokes.

"First off, that's ethnocentrism. Get with the times you bigot. Secondly, what's wrong with eating a little pussy?" Jordan says with a cringey smile.

Linka feels her cheeks redden. "I walked into that one…" she admits.

"I take pride in my wordplay," Jordan says before returning to her phone. "Seriously though. What are we gonna eat?"

"I thought you said we were getting prizza?" Linka reminds her.

"Yeah. but if we do, I'm getting all the stuff I like on it. And there won't be a _single_ pineapple on it, I tell ya h'what," Jordan says, slipping into a silly hillbilly accent.

Linka rolls her eyes. "Okay, no pineapple. But get it without cheese, and throw everything else you can on it. Like normal people do," Linka says, going for the kill.

Jordan just sourly purses her lips as Linka looks back to her with amusement on her face.

"At least I don't dip mine in barbeque sauce like some foolish knaves," she rebuts.

"Do you have barbeque sauce?," Linka tells her, finally standing up after getting both of her shoes off.

"Got you, babe," Jordan says with a little kiss before ringing up the local pizza joint.

Linka just smiles to herself as she goes into the living area to make herself comfortable. The fact that Jordan was calling her cutesy names again too only helped her mood.

Much like her own dorm, there wasn't much space for wild partying, or even mild partying, really. There was a bedroom, a bathroom, and this decently diminutive living room that bled into the kitchen.

She had a TV that was connected to a laptop, which was probably almost dead (Jordan was notoriously inconsiderate of her technology), and a little couch with a little end table.

The best part was… the couch was almost exactly the same as her own.

"Oh! Oh!" Linka hollers with excitement, causing Jordan to rush into the room.

"What?" she anxiously asks with a phone against her ear, placing her hand on the speaker to block the cacophony.

"Look at this ridiculously crappy couch," Linka begins, pointing out the furniture.

Jordan just scowls at her before going back to her business, but Linka decides she hasn't had enough fun.

"This looks like the couch you buy at the beginning of a new Sims game when you only have 200 dollars! I feel like if I dropped crumbs on it, a million rats would come out and start flocking towards them!" she shouts to Jordan.

"Very funny, Linka," Jordan simply responds from the other room.

Linka laughs a little to herself before inviting herself to have a seat on the quip worthy couch. Despite her witticisms, she has to admit to herself that it feels really nice to sit back and unwind after a Monday like this.

She rests her eyes for a moment, allowing images of her family and loved ones to come to her mind's eye. Usually around this time of night, she'd get on her webcam or her phone and begin to message them. Some nights she would put off homework to make sure she talked to all ten of her brothers, both her parents, Pop Pop on a good day, and maybe even find time for Claudia and Ronaldo.

But never Jordan. At least, not recently…

The first few weeks after she and her family had to leave for the city, she would call, she would text, she would do what she could. Heck, she'd even check on those dumb fanart and fanfiction accounts to comment on her comments. Just because it showed she cared.

But, it slowly stopped. More time spent hanging out with Claudia, going to family events, starting jobs, worrying about cars… _boys…_

In the midst of beating herself up, Jordan interrupts her to come in with a little plastic bowl. She plops herself down on the couch beside her, and lets out a hardy yawn as she stretches. She is so graceful.

Linka cringes, and scoots over a bit for her. "Jeez, tubby."

"Bite my braid," Jordan quips before taking a lemon wedge out of her bowl, and taking a bite of it. She doesn't squint, she doesn't flinch, she just stoically gnaws into the citrus like some sort of freak, and Linka twinges all the while.

Jordan looks at her with evident confusion. "What?" she asks with a cheek full of lemon wedge.

"What do you mean _'What?'"_ Linka retorts. "Who eats just a plain lemon wedge?"

"I put sugar on it," Jordan reasons. "Who are you to judge anyway, Ms. _plain ketchup is good with everything?"_

Linka takes the pillow she's resting by, and carefully smacks Jordan in the knee with it before hugging it in her arms. "You suck," she simply states.

"Well, I think the pillow would agree lemons go great with white stuff," Jordan cleverly tells her friend.

They share a little laugh, but then it gets quiet. Both girls lean their heads back, and happen to yawn at the same time.

"Dang," Jordan comments.

"We're getting old," Linka adds.

"Speak for yourself, grandma," Jordan ripostes.

And for a little while afterwards, the two sit in absolute silence. Not an awkward silence, but a tired silence. One for the sake of recharging batteries, and resting their arsenal of snappy comebacks.

But for Linka, there's also this looming guilt. Maybe it was just her fault that things didn't work out so well. She could have tried harder to stay in touch. Why didn't she?

"Hey, creepy," Jordan says to break the silence. Linka looks over to meet the brunette's tired eyes. "You uh… You gonna bounce after you eat all my pizza?" she asks.

This wasn't usual Jordan sarcasm. This was _advanced_ Jordan sarcasm. The kind that said, _are you leaving or staying? I won't just outright ask you, because then I'd have to show my… *shivers* true feelings!_

For some reason, all Linka can do is stare and say nothing. It's the same childish fear she felt outside the dormitory, the same fear she felt during the silences of their car ride, the same fear she felt… trying to talk to Jordan after she left.

…

Finally, she has to say something.

"Do you want me to stay?" she asks.

"I mean… You can…" Jordan answers with a hint of her usual persona.

Linka fixes her posture so that her whole body is now facing Jordan, and she sits up straight. Jordan just looks to her with some apprehension. _It was about to get real._

"No, seriously. Do you want me to stay?" Linka repeats. "Like, no jokes or anything. What are we doing?"

Jordan raises a confused brow. "Uhm… Waiting for pizza?"

Linka groans. "Ugh… No, you don't get what I'm asking."

"You're right. I don't," Jordan says, and she puts her bowl of lemon wedges on the coffee table before positioning herself to face Linka now too.

Linka leans back, defeated. "Jordan… I suck, okay?" she starts. "I'm sorry I was such a crappy friend to you after you left. I should've tried harder. I should've gotten over myself and just made the effort to try and stay in touch."

Jordan just waits for a moment, before responding with a quirky, "That was really sudden…"

Linka sits back up, and looks into her eyes again. Jordan looks back, seeing the timidness in the white haired girls' demeanor.

"Jordan, please. For once, no jokes, no crud. I know you hate talking about feelings-"

"I never said I hate talking about feelings," Jordan softly says to interrupt, leaning her elbow against the couch and resting her face in her hand.

Linka sighs. "You seem like it."

For a moment, she says nothing so she collect her thoughts. She knew what she needed to say, but she wasn't sure how. Maybe she was overthinking it, though. Maybe she just needed… _to say._

"I was scared. I don't know why. But I was scared to talk to you, so I didn't. It was different when I could just see you at school or ride my bike to your house. I knew you'd be there… But after you left, it was different. It was like, I felt forced. I felt like what we had wasn't the same, and it never could be again. It made me feel bad, so… I just stopped trying. For my own sake…"

She gets it all out, and she leans back against the couch to avoid Jordan's amber eyes. She can feel her eyes slightly tearing up, and her ears burning up. Years of frustration built up had all just been spilled out the floodgates, in a matter of mere seconds.

And the worst part? Now she just felt stupid for trying at all.

Finally, Jordan says something back.

"I… I get it," she begins. Linka looks back to hear after hearing these words, and now Jordan looks away as she folds her arms and deflatedly faces forward.

"I was scared too. Of everything. My new school, my new house… Thinking of how I needed to stay in touch with my old life. After a while though, I guess it just made me feel worse than anything. I felt like I was hanging onto something just- better left to fray. I don't know if I'm saying it right."

She stops for a moment to catch her breath, and she sneaks a little look at Linka before allowing herself to sink deeper into the couch before continuing.

"I feel like, people expect so much from me. And I guess that's why I don't do this, mushy Full House stuff. I know when I let someone in, that they'll feel like they have to see more from me. I don't think I'm capable of giving it back…"

She pauses again, then fixes her eyes on Linka. She sits up again, and looks deep into her eyes with her same posture as before.

"You were different though. You were like… my favorite person for the longest time. I mean, I know Claudia was your best friend… but I always felt like I was a strong number 2…"

Linka smirks the faintest smirk. She hated herself, but she had to say it: "You are a number two."

"Shut up," Jordan simply responds with a small smile coming to her face. She then leans her head back for a moment before saying more. "I guess I was more afraid of getting closer than I was growing apart."

For a moment, there's another silence. It gives Linka time to breathe, time to relax her fluttering heart and wipe the sweat from her clammy palms.

Was this what breakthroughs felt like? It was kind of suckish. Weird.

But it felt really good, too.

"I think- I think I feel the same way. I think so, anyway," Linka says before looking back to Jordan. Their eyes meet, and… they refuse to look away. Now that they've reached this new science of understanding, this new foundation of trust… they didn't have to.

"You weren't some consolation prize to Claudia though. You were my best friend too. I cared a lot about you, Jordan. I still do.

They focus on each other's eyes, conveying the same angst and pain, the same fear and anxiety, the same comfort and understanding. It was really weird, but it was a good weird. It felt like they could try this forever, maybe, knowing full well they couldn't, knowing it would have to end one day; but also wanting to try regardless.

But then, it becomes too much for Linka, comparable to everything she said before. Every rose had its thorns, and she'd just pricked herself with one. She had to turn away.

"Even if I do a crummy job of showing it," she adds to her prior statement, sinking deep into the couch like the pathetic piece of waste she is.

Jordan waits, then scoots just an inch closer to Linka. "Hey, come on. You've already got ten brothers to guilt trip you about stuff. Go easy," she jokes. She looks out the corner of her eye, then allows herself to look to Linka once again, this time with sincerity.

"And, I'm here. I'm here for you, Linka."

Linka looks back to her, and again, she loses herself just gazing at her. She doesn't remember ever seeing this side of Jordan; one where she's openly remorseful, conspicuously considerate, _here for her._

If she didn't stop looking at her the way she is now…

But, in what should have been forsooth, Jordan shuts her eyes, tilts her head back, and starts flippin' singing.

"Is it oooooooverrrr… Is it over? Cause it's drivin' me insane!"

Linka has to laugh. "You're so stupid," she tells her in the most affectionate way imaginable.

Jordan just keeps singing though, freeing her inner Disney princess. Or maybe Deadpool. Something in between.

"Take a walk outside your mi-i-i-i-i-ind... And tell me how it feels to be, the one who turns the knife inside of me!Come on Linka I know you know the words!" she teases, standing up from the couch and taking the other girl by the hands.

Linka says nothing. She can't. She just smiles like an idiot as she lets Jordan lift her into this dancing embrace, letting these strange, weird gushy feelings permeate the air like pollen.

She lets Jordan take the lead, still singing (and butchering) her best Steven Tyler. With her hands in Jordan's, she feels at peace, she feels like nothing else matters. She has her best friend back, and she doesn't have to worry about anything else, at least not tonight.

So she decides to sing along, and dance along, and laugh along too.

And it feels good. Great. Better than maybe anything she's felt since arriving in Great Lakes City.

Eventually though, the sound of a doorbell buzzing cuts through their commotion, and they stop. One thing they both certainly agreed upon: food comes first.

So they freeze, still holding hands, and look into one another's eyes as the annoying sound of the doorbell buzzing repeats.

It may as well be muted though. Jordan was looking at Linka that same way again, and she was already feeling giddy and mirthful enough to make a fool of herself. But this exchange, this brought and even stronger feeling of excitement to her heart, one she isn't sure just _what_ will make her do.

But then, Jordan frees one hand to preen her hair, all while looking at Linka and laughing the smallest, sweetest laugh, and then she frees the other.

"Alright loser. Go see if my laptop is charged and maybe we'll watch something while we stuff our fat faces," Jordan tells Linka before going for the door, looking back at Linka here and there with the same endearing smile glued on her face.

Linka smiles back, standing beside herself with this wonderfully saccharine feeling lingering in her chest. Savoring it. Clinging to it. Hoping it would never leave.

"Sure thing."

 **So, I guess I should've said that this chapter would have… LEMONS :D**

 **(If you already don't hate me, you really should now.)**

 **The song referenced was "Hole in My Soul" by Aerosmith. YEEEEEAAAAAH!**

 **Anyway, I had intended for this thing to be four chapters long, but I'm guessing there will be one or two more. It depends on how I feel about maybe stretching past what I anticipated to be the ending. But, I digress.**

 **I hope you're having fun reading, and I hope you'll stay tuned for more. Thank you very much, and see ya next time, true believers.**


	5. Strange Bedfellows

_**Weeks Later**_

Friday night. Linka and Jordan are nice and snug with blankets wrapped around them while sitting on the latter's notoriously drab couch. A bowl of popcorn sits between them, their eyes are glued to the television screen.

On the monitor, a girl with sandy blonde hair done in a French braid and a complementing blue bow walks alongside a boy in an orange polo. He had white hair and big shoes.

It was one of those obscure animes that Jordan really liked and Linka had never even heard of, but she was willing to at least give the first episode a try. For obvious reasons.

It didn't disappoint, but she definitely wouldn't have watched all the way up to chapter six if it wasn't for Jordan buying her so much "prizza," as they called it.

The boy and the girl stand outside of an arcade ala Royal Woods' very own Gus's Games N' Grub, and after meeting each other's eyes with loving and wanting looks, they finally crash their lips together for a long overdue kiss.

"TOUCHDOWN!" Jordan excitedly shouts, flailing her hands into the air and nearly knocking over the popcorn bowl. Linka just smiles like an idiot at the romantic display, sniffling because of allergies and something in her eye… not anything else.

The credits to the show begin to roll, and Jordan meets Linka with a wide, exuberant smile.

"That was so good. What did you think?" she asks.

Linka wipes a tear from her eye as she sniffles again. "It was so beautiful," she admits. She feels so spazzy for saying it that way though, and quickly clears her throat before sitting up straight. "I mean… It was good. It was nice."

Jordan laughs. "Yeah, it was nice. And totally cheesy," she says, playfully nudging Linka with her elbow before picking up the remote beside of her and seeing what's up on Fletnix.

"Okay… Uh, it doesn't say whether or not anymore episodes are coming out. Have you heard anything about it?" Linka points out.

"Beats me," Jordan says with a shrug. "The dude who made it got all weird after Live to Win. He said he was gonna do something Tanya and Fernando, but then he ended up doing all this other crap-"

"Hey, Left in the Dark was good," Linka defends.

"Okay, yeah. But still. Anything's better than the stuff he does now," she says with a shiver.

"Yeah," Linka says with a confounded, sickly wince. "Uh… Wanna watch Wanderers?" she asks with a straight face.

Jordan looks to her with scornfully perplexed expression, but then a little smile creeps on Linka's face, and the two burst into laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Oh man, you almost had me going there!" Jordan says, wiping a tear from her eye as she holds her rib with her free hand.

"Pffft, yeah right. That stuff sucks," Linka bluntly states.

"No lie," Jordan agrees before continuing to browse Fletnix's award winning and acclaimed selections. (And whatever the heck Devices and Mechanizations was supposed to be about.) **;D**

They find nothing worth spending their time on though, and Jordan decides to toss the remote to the side while letting out a careless "Pfffffffft… Lame."

Nights like these became the norm for Linka and Girl Jordan. Ever since that fateful Monday several weeks back, the two were nearly inseparable. When they had class without each other, they texted each other the freshest of memes. When they saw each other in the halls, they would attack each other with _Don't Look at Me_ all while trying to sneak forks and pencil's into each other's pockets.

They went to the market together, they went to Heaven's Night together to eat more subpar meals while making fun of Jane's ginger self, and they always ended up coming back to one another's dorms for food and Fletnix.

Life for Linka Loud had been good the last few weeks. Great, even. Everyone at home was doing fantastic. Loki and Bebe were doing great with their infant son Luis. Loni was moving his way up the ladder at Reiningers. Luke and Carl Pingrey were getting serious. Lane had a "Fifty Reasons to Hate Me" act that left crowds in stitches. Lynn was being number one at everything, per usual. Lars, Leif, Lexx, and Levi were doing great in school; Levi especially…

And Leon was coming into his own, developing his own unique personality. But that's a story for another time…

Ronaldo and the Casagrandes were as happy as ever, Claudia was making strides as the valedictorian at Royal Woods University.

They were happy, and Linka was happy for them. It didn't stop her from calling and texting them all as much as possible, sometimes even with Jordan. Rita and Lynn Sr had more to say to her during their last webchat than they did their own daughter.

Yes, things were great.

It was also a long day to end a long week, though; and Linka finds herself letting out a loud yawn just as Jordan does the same.

They laugh at the fact, and Jordan lightly punches Linka's arm. It's more like a tap of the knuckles, really, it's so weak.

"Don't tell me you're getting tired already," she says to her guest.

"It's funny. If it were Monday, and I had some big exam or presentation to worry about; I'd be all over the place. But tonight?..." Linka answers with tired eyes.

Jordan chuckles. "Yeah… Me too, actually."

For a moment, they sit in silence, kind of just looking at the bright lights radiating from the television screen, but not really paying attention to what's on it.

Linka shakes herself to check the time though, and sees that it is currently 9:59.

"Ughhh… We're so lame," she complains.

"Speak for yourself," Jordan ripostes. "This morning, I took twenty minutes to cut out coupons for my next trip to the market. The Golden Girls would be so proud of me."

"Dang girl. If I were a boy, you would have just hit the jackpot," Linka jokes.

Jordan laughs. "Ehh, I did hit the jackpot," she says. "...If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have anyone to borrow biology notes from."

"Wow. You really know how to make a girl feel special," Linka jokes back.

For a moment, the two are quiet again after laughing about their banter. Suddenly, Jordan perks up, and scoots a little closer to Linka before crossing her legs Indian style.

"Okay, we need to do something to pass the time. We have to at least stay up until eleven at least. I don't want to feel all old and junk," she tells Linka.

"Or, _Or…_ Maybe we could just go to bed? Then tomorrow will be here. And we can go to the arcade sooner," Linka suggests.

It earns her a scornful scowl from Girl Jordan. "And wake up before noon? What the heck is the matter with you?"

She straightens up her back with a little shake and shuffle, and slaps her thighs. "Okay. Let's play a game."

"If you say Don't Look at Me-"

"No, dummy. That's only fun when I catch you off guard," Jordan tells Linka before putting on a thinking face. "Hmm… Alright! How about 20 questions?"

Linka rolls her eyes. "20 Questions? What are you, twelve?"

"Hey! 20 Questions is awesome!" Jordan rebuts, but she concedes nevertheless. "Okay, why don't we try two truths and a lie?"

Linka furrows her brow at the other girl. "Someone's been spending too much time reminiscing about their theatre class glory days," she snarkily claims.

Jordan lethargically blows a raspberry. "Fair enough."

She pipes down, leaving Linka feeling a little remorseful for her behavior. "Sorry if I'm being boring. I'm just tired," she explains.

"I know," Jordan somewhat sullenly responds, looking again to the TV screen before her. There is a certain somberness to her now. Was Linka being that big a buzzkill?

"Hey, you good?" she asks.

Jordan sighs. "Yeah, I'm fine," she says, allowing a weak little smile to come to her face as she looks to Linka. She just looks at her for a moment with piteous amber eyes, and it brings a sadness to Linka's heart. What was really going on here?

"Uhm… Are you sure? Is this about not getting any more Fernando?" she says in an attempt to lighten the mood.

It elicits a little grin from Jordan, who looks away again, this time to the carpet beneath her. She wraps her fingers around a stray string of plastic protruding from it, and slowly yanks it until it's been pulled off completely.

"Can- can I ask you something, Link?" she begins, studying the plastic string.

"Sure?" Linka simply responds.

Jordan doesn't answer right away. She carefully considers what she wants to say.

"Do you ever think of like… What things will be like in the future? Like, not even far away? Just, how maybe you may not be the person you are today in a few weeks, or even a few days?"

Unsure how to respond, Linka can feel her chest heavying, and her ears burning up as they're liable to do.

"Uhm, I don't know. Where is this coming from?" Linka follows.

Jordan shakes her head. "Just forget it. It's stupid."

Linka fixes her own posture, and faces Jordan now. "Hey. It's not stupid. If there's something on your mind, you can talk to me about it."

Jordan glumly looks to the ground before meeting Linka's eyes with her own once more. "Well like, don't think I'm depressed or anything, because I'm not. I just…"

She stops herself, unsure of how to continue. She takes a deep breath, and hopes to be able to say how she feels well enough.

"I've had a lot of fun these last few days. You know that, right?"

Linka meets the question with some confusion, but she does her best to keep a level head. "Yeah. I have too," she replies.

Jordan nods. "Well, you know it won't last forever, right?"

Linka doesn't say anything. What is she supposed to say to that?

Jordan faintly smiles before pressing forward. "One day, you're gonna be a different person, and so will I. We'll meet new people, make new friends, maybe even find true love and start families. I'll get tired of vampires, you'll get tired of superheroes… We'll be really old, and really lame. Like Kenan Thompson…"

Linka smirks at Jordan's little joke. It was a good enough indicator that she was okay. She was fine. Conversely, there was much conviction in her words. She had to be the supportive friend here, and she gladly would. Maybe not for just _anyone_ and there problems, but for Jordan? Definitely.

"Yeah, well, we were apart for four years, and here we are now. Friends again. I'd like to think that won't change," she states, a soft smile curving on her face.

"But what if I never had to move? Who's to say we wouldn't have gotten sick of each other? Who's to say we still won't get sick of each other?" Jordan argues.

Linka firms her resolve. "Jordan, that's not going to happen," she begins. "Getting you back after so long made me realize how much I like having you around."

Jordan says nothing for a moment, sitting quietly to consider Linka's words.

"I don't know Linka. I guess… I guess my problem is; I'm happy."

"That's a problem?" Linka questions.

"Maybe," Jordan answers. "The more I think about it, and the happier I get, the more it hurts to think of losing this."

It was a sad thought. It's true that nothing lasts forever, but was there really a reason to prepare for things changing again? So soon, at least?

Again, Linka steels herself, and composes a well thought out response.

"Don't think I don't feel the same way sometimes. I mean, sure. Maybe something could happen. But, I'm going to try really hard to make sure it doesn't. We don't have to be perfect or whatever. We just… We just…" she stutters, losing what momentum she had.

"Linka, I like what we've got going on. I guess I'm just trying to say, I don't wanna screw it up," Jordan clarifies, a weak little smile creeping on her face now.

She traps Linka in the web of her amber eyes once again, just as she's been known to do. She was unbeatable when she did this, and Linka wasn't able to figure out why.

She doesn't really care anymore either. She just knows it feels good.

"I don't either," she agrees.

They take some time to let the words linger, and to subside some of the fluttering in their hearts. Talks like these were getting easier. Jordan was beginning to let more of her personality bleed through the cracks, and Linka appreciated it.

A lot, actually.

"Alright… I think I've made it lame enough. I'm gonna have some Ben & Jerry's and then hit the hay," Jordan says before standing up from her comfy little spot.

"Pfffft… Where's the Jordan from five minutes ago? The one who said, 'let's stay up till eleven at least,'" Linka teases.

"You know how I'm always saying, 'sleep is for the weak?'" Jordan asks with a sly grin. "Well, I'm weak," she adds.

She turns to make her way into the kitchen, and Linka lets out a hardy yawn. She was weak too.

Again, the white haired girl turns to check the time. An impressively long six minutes have passed since last looking. Her eyelids are a lot heavier now then. Her body was heavier period.

Dang… Her dorm was so far away too…

"IIIIIIIIIIIII'm the maaaaaaaaaan in the couch…" she sluggishly sings, followed by a pitiful little "uh huh huh…"

"Stick to your day job, Kakarot," Jordan comments from the kitchen. "Oh hey. Don't forget your phone charger here again. I almost took it with me to class yesterday," she adds upon remembering.

Linka looks over to her charger, and her bookbag, and the door, and- she was right to boo hoo. She's so _tired._

"I don't wanna get up," she bemoans.

Jordan makes her way in, and checks her face for any ice cream residue in the mirror. She's clean, but she also finds herself stretching and cracking her back.

"Oh poop… You're old. And you make me old," she tells Linka.

Linka says nothing. She just wearily looks skyward.

"No comeback? I don't blame you. It's like Sleepy Hollow in here all of a sudden," Jordan remarks.

"I don't think that's how Sleepy Hollow works," Linka corrects her.

"I don't even care right now. I just wanna stuff my face in my fluffy pillow and drift off to slumberland," Jordan says with a pseudo-petulant tone.

"Sigh… You and me, both," Linka agrees.

"Did you just say 'sigh?'" Jordan asks, and she studies her for a moment, eyeing her up down as she idles on her couch. "Or you could just leave a big dent in my couch with your blobby butt," she jokes.

Linka shares an obscene finger gesture with her in response, to which Jordan simply laughs.

Then, she stays quiet for a second as she eyes a spot on the floor. She keeps staring at it until she notices Linka lifting her head up again, and the two girls look to one another.

"Hey uh… You know… If you're really that tired…" Jordan starts. "You could just stay here tonight."

Linka's mind was already a bit cloudy. But now she felt a little taken back. For one, she loved her own bed. Sure, it would really blow Chunks if she had to actually get off this couch and walk back to her dorm to get to it, but… it was _her_ bed.

Secondly…

"Uh, I appreciate the offer, J. But- and don't take this the wrong way, I really don't wanna sleep on your couch," she tells the other girl.

Jordan amusedly smiles. "Uh, I would let you sleep in my bed, but it's whatever you wanna do," she says before disregarding her with a shrug and making her way to the restroom.

Linka takes the time to consider Jordan's offer. Was Jordan really willing to give up her bed for her tonight? There had to be a catch. Lane had called her up and this was all some elaborate scheme. Ronaldo and Levi were in on it too. For _reasons!_

Even so, there was no denying it any longer. The poor girl just wants to go to bed, and at this point, it doesn't matter if it's Jordan's or her own. And the benefits of not having to haul all of her crap back to her dorm tonight or risk forgetting about it in the morning outweighed the results of potential nefarious scheming on the part of her friend Girl Jordan.

"The heck with it," she grumbles to herself before feeling this surge of energy come to her, this lightning like motivation to actually somehow get her skinny fat butt off the couch and walk over to somewhere!

"Jordan!" she calls out.

"Yeah?!" the other girl responds while brushing her teeth. Gross.

"I'm gonna take you up on your offer. I'm crashing in your bed," she states.

"Alright. That's fine," Jordan belatedly replies.

"Night!" Linka says with the last of her newfound mettle. It all quickly fades as she crashes down on Jordan's mattress face first, not even checking to see if she'll land safely.

She does, fortunately. And, oh wow… Jordan's bed was really nice. It smelled good, the sheets were made, and it cozy, warm, comfortable…

"Don't hog the whole bed, Lardka," she hears Jordan say from the doorway.

She musters the strength to sit up and look to her, seeing her standing there with her same confident smirk she so often wears.

And Linka just sits there like a deer caught in headlights.

"Well?" Jordan says.

"Well what?" Linka confusedly questions.

"Well, aren't you going to make room for me?" Jordan follows.

Linka fumbles her words for a moment, but is able to work something out of her drying mouth.

"Uhh, I didn't realize you meant we'd be sharing the bed. I thought you just- like…"

"Oh, don't be such a prude," Jordan teases. "Look, I'm going to sleep, and I'm doing it in my own bed. You do whatever you want," she proclaims.

Yet, Linka still meets her with the same dubiousness, until Jordan makes a motioning gesture to get her to scoot over.

Linka's heart to drowns out all her sense with the sound of its beating. Almost mindlessly, she just makes way for Jordan. Maybe it's because she's so tired, maybe it's because she doesn't want to be even more awkweird than she already is. Whatever it is, she's scooching over to the left side of the bed until she's somewhat comfortable in her own little spot, and Jordan paces her way over to the other side.

Almost like a little rabbit, Linka defensively lies still on her side facing towards the wall as she feels Jordan's weight dipping down on the mattress. They'd slept together before as kids. Why did she care now? What was the big deal?

"I normally sleep on that side of the bed," Jordan says to her as she makes herself cozy.

"What? Oh, sorry," Linka tells her.

"I'm just messin' with ya," Jordan simply says, her exhaustion evident in her tired tone.

For a little while, the other girl says nothing, leaving Linka alone to quarrel the feelings of discomfort. She takes yoga breaths like Loki taught her, relaxing herself with every inhale and exhale.

" _See? This isn't so bad. Cozy bed, sleepover with Jordan… It's all good, Link. Just rest easy."_

" _I suppose I should at least say good night or something though. Make her think I'm somewhat normal."_

She glances over her shoulder, not enough to see Jordan, but enough to make herself heard clearly.

"Thanks for letting me stay here, dude. Good night," she says to her.

She doesn't get a response.

She rolls herself over, half expecting to find an almost drunken-like Jordan snoring loudly like in the cartoons, dead to the world.

Instead, she sees her just sort of lying there. She rests her head over her right hand, letting her left lie on her tummy as she looks to the wall ahead of her. Maybe not so much the wall though. Maybe just… whatever…

Her face is tired, but it also seems a little sad. Her eyes do anyway. It could be that she's just not smiling that snide smile of hers, but it could be so much more. Especially considering all the things she said in the other room not too long ago.

Well, now Linka's mind is racing. She can't go to bed until she at least tries to ask what's up.

"Is everything alright, J?" she asks, sitting up to face her now.

Jordan meets her gaze. "Huh? Oh. Yeah. Yeah I'm alright," she answers. "Why?" she adds with a little less confidence.

Linka studies her face in this lighting for a moment. The bluish hue from the outside moonlight bleeding in through the windows just barely reveals her face, but enough to do so perfectly.

And she couldn't tell what this was in her eyes she was seeing. Pain, sorrow?

Or what?

Was she scared?

"I'm just making sure," Linka settles for, still meeting her friends eyes to let her know that this much was certainly true.

Jordan conveys the same piteous, almost desperate and beseeching look. But then, the corner of her lip curves up, just a little. Just enough.

"You know something, Linka?" she begins. "I think maybe I'm the most alright I've ever been."

It was… the perfect response. For whatever reason, Linka was smiling too now, and the familiar warm feeling in her chest was swelling again.

"Why is that?" she asks.

Jordan… the words are there. It's finding them, though.

"Because, you know everything I said earlier? The stuff about- losing this or whatever?... Forget I even said it. I'm just… I'm just happy to have you here now."

Linka beams from ear to ear. She had heard it before, sure. But she really loved hearing it again.

But someone had to save the moment by ruining it, and she decided to take initiative this time.

"Alright, stop telling me your stupid Confucius quotes and let me go to sleep now," she quips, resting her head back down on the mattress, still facing Jordan.

The brunette softly, endearingly smiles at that, and like so many times before, they just get lost for a little while looking at each other and being in this moment together.

There were tense, awkward silences, and then there were _these_ ones. The ones that made life way more easy than it had any right to be. The ones where things could just be taken in stride, where the finest things could be appreciated.

And Jordan? She's pretty great.

At least, Linka thinks so.

…

"Don't look at me," Jordan says to break the silence.

Of… course…

Linka rolls her eyes and smiles, and Jordan just smiles back before straightening up a bit.

"Seriously. Don't look at me. I can't sleep with you staring at me like that," she tells her.

"Oh… Sorry," Linka says, and she slowly rolls back over to give Jordan her privacy. "Good night," she tells her, almost saddening at the fact that this moment is ending.

It was good too though. It was one of many more they would have together as friends. Good friends. _Best_ friends.

Really, they were more than that. Even after so long, there was still something special between them. An unshakable bond that made these moments so easy and cherishable.

It didn't really matter what it was called or if it even had a name, but Linka knew she loved it. She loved feeling secure here, even after having those doubts.

What she loved even more though, was knowing deep down that Jordan trusted these feelings too.

It was a nice thought to have before closing her eyes and deciding to finally go to sleep. There wasn't really a better way to end an already great day with… _her._

…

Jordan, on the other hand…

She can't close her eyes. She can't look away. She steels herself, feeling the gentle pitter pattering in her chest becoming a pounding. Maybe this was stupid, maybe she was in the wrong. But dang it, it feels right. It feels like this is something she just needs to do, something she needs to try.

Slowly, she scoots herself closer to Linka. Linka can feel her shuffling from behind her, but she doesn't move. It's probably nothing…

But she can feel the bed dipping more and more.

Then, she feels Jordan's arm wrapping around her waist, her knees brushing against her calves, her chest pressing against her back.

Her breath on her neck.

Her heart starts racing... Jordan is _cuddling_ with her.

"Wh- what are you doing?" Linka timidly asks, feeling her best friend's warmth against her.

Quietly, coyly, Jordan responds. "Is this okay?"

Linka cautiously turns her head so that she can see Jordan's face. Her sweet, friendly face she'd grown quite fond of. Her gentle face. Her… beautiful face.

It shows a little fear, but something much more desirable. Jordan cares about her. She sees it in those enchanting amber eyes, more so than she's ever recognized before.

This was that something more that made their relationship what it was.

She doesn't know what to call it, and she really doesn't care.

Linka likes it.

"Yeah. You're okay," she answers.

With that, they meet eyes for just a moment, just so that this understanding can be made, almost like a promise to let it last through the night, and to let it seethe into the morning after.

Jordan smiles, and Linka smiles too.

The white haired girl lets her head rest back down easy, and the girl she affectionately calls Girl Jordan decides to do the same. She nuzzles her forehead against the back of Linka's neck, getting comfortable in her considerate embrace before happily shutting her eyes.

Linka takes solace in the wonderfully exciting sensation brewing in her heart, the one Jordan has caused. Even more so, she decides she really likes the way her arm feels wrapped around her waist, and she decides she'd feel even better resting her own arm on top of hers.

All those years away, all the things that changed; it didn't matter now. The only thing that mattered was that Jordan was able to show just how she truly felt, and Linka was able to reciprocate it without fear. This was who they were, and who they were meant to be.

It wasn't going to last forever, and it would never be perfect. There would be a lot more awkweird moments, and there would be even more badly timed jokes to ruin the sweet ones.

But in a way, knowing this brings Linka comfort. There wasn't time to worry about how things could or should be, or the way they used to be.

What matters is the way they are now, and enjoying this for what it was. If she was lucky, she could see it grow.

But seeing as how Jordan decided it was okay to bring her to bed and snuggle with her, now snoring like that cartoon Linka visualized, she was now certain.

She wouldn't trade it for the world.

* * *

 **Okay, real quick. This will be the penultimate chapter. That's a big word for "second to last."**

 **I made more references in this chapter then I think I ever have ever. There are lots of great authors in this fandom, y'all.**

 **And today's not so subtle subtlety involves "Man in the Box" by the GOAT: Alice In Chains.**

 **I just wanna thank all of you for reading and being good little minions. I don't foresee myself doing anymore AN's for this, except maybe an afterword, because… I like to talk a lot. XD**

 **Anyway, thanks a whole huggy bunch, and I hope you enjoy these last two chapters, true believers. Thanks again for making 2017 and 2018 some of the best years of my life.**


	6. Look At Me

**Real quick: I'm throwing more music at you beautiful people today. Try "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer. It takes a real man to listen to that song. Then do "The Only Exception" by Paramore. Take these feels, people.**

 **Anyway, this is the final chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it. This has been a lot of fun to write, and hopefully even more fun for you to read.**

 **I don't care if you've read all my crap, or if this is your first time resting your head on my fluffy pillow.**

 **I love you all, and you make this all possible. You have my unconditional thanks.**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

Linka wakes up with a smile on her face. Her dreams were full of memories of Girl Jordan; playing games with her, having her over as a guest at the Loud house, eating weird cheeseless pizza with her in the uni cafeteria…

Snuggling through the night together.

The white haired girl stretches, yawns, and sits herself up on Jordan's mattress. "Good morning, sunshine," she softly says to her bedfellow, looking over to see her bright, shining face.

Okay, she probably has messed up hair and drool running down her cheek, but that's not the point.

However, she discovers that Jordan is no longer in the bed with her.

Linka looks all around for any signs of her, almost in a panic. Was something wrong? Did _she_ do something wrong?

She hurries to grab her phone off the end table, and frantically unlocks it. She finds a few notifications, including text messages from several people.

Claudia, Mom, Luke…

Jordan.

She races her thumbs as fast as they'll go to check the new message, and there's a lot of them.

"Oh no."

…

 _Hey Stinka. Sorry to up and leave you like that. I got a call saying I needed to come into work early, and I couldn't say no._

 _Anyway, I'll make it up to the best way I know how. I will buy you food. Lots of it._

 _But I get to pick from where. I'm not eating friggin' tacos again._

 _Actually, I'm sick of takeout period._

 _You know what? I'll fix us up something when I get home. Sandwiches n stuff. We'll go on a picnic at the park and make fun of people like we used to do with your brothers._

 _Only it will just two girls instead of twelve._

 _Wait, thirteen._

 _I always forget about Lars._

 _Anyway, uh, yeah. I don't hate you or anything. (Anymore than I already do.) So don't freak out about that. Just meet me at the park around 5:00. Text me._

 _Kiss 3_

…

Linka sighs with relief, hugging her phone to her chest.

Where anxiety made her heart race before, there's now the pooling of bliss. Would she have liked to have woken up still in Jordan's arms? Yes. Would she have liked to have talked about what last night meant for their relationship? More than anything in the world.

Even so, this was okay, too. Maybe it would be better. She now has all day to think of the things she'll say, the things she'll ask, the ways Jordan can react…

Normally, that would be bad. Very bad. Linka Loud is her own worst enemy when it comes to dwelling on things, after all. Worst case scenarios would flood her mind's' eye until she needs to go cry in the shower or stuff her face with ice cream. Or both.

But today, this was a good thing. If Jordan's text messages full of the usual sarcasm and the complementary sincerity are any indication, last night was no fluke.

Whatever it was, be it the capstone of their friendship, or a step forward towards… something more…

Linka knows to trust her heart.

* * *

5:00. Linka is on the bus, diligently waiting for it to reach its destination. She checks her phone for the millionth time since leaving the dormitory. Unsurprisingly, she has no new notifications from any of her friends or loved ones. None of her professors either. They were pretty chill this semester, only spamming her with reminders for upcoming projects during the weekdays.

There was also no word from Girl Jordan. Linka wouldn't get too anxious though. If anybody knew anything about showing up fashionably late, it was her. And she did say _around_ 5:00. It wasn't the end of the world. Not yet at least.

Between reading some Ace Savvy, doing a little drawing, forcing herself to finish some of Andrews' sociology assignments, and even making time to web chat with some of the boys and the 'rents; she has plenty of time to anticipate her next meet with Girl Jordan.

Strangely, she isn't even nervous. Well, maybe a little. But a good nervous. Like, she knows it will go well. It just has to.

She's more nervous about how much she'll get to say, and what Jordan will have to say. She knows not to get her hopes up too high. There weren't going to be church bells ringing or anything at the end of the night.

But there might be more snuggling. And that's more than okay with Linka Loud.

As her bus comes to its stop, she feels her phone buzz in her purse. She reaches in for it, and pulls it out to find that it is now 5:06, and she has a new text message from Jordan.

 _I'm here now. Come to the pavilion by the viewfinders and I'll set us up a spot._

Linka reads it, but just as she's about to put her phone back, it buzzes again. And, it's Jordan.

 _Oh. Uh. You smell weird. Yeah. smth_

Linka just smiles at this. "You're an idiot," she softly thinks aloud.

She follows the other passengers off of the bus, and places her earbuds in her ears before shuffling through her playlist for something to help make her walk to Byrne Park a little more enjoyable.

She decides to just put it on random, and waits for the music to play as she starts her stroll.

 _*Kiss me... out of the bearded barley, Nightly... beside the green, green grass. Swing, swing... Swing the spinning step. You'll wear those shoes and I will wear that dress…*_

"This is pretty lame," she jokes to herself with a little smile crossing her face.

Yeah, it is lame. Because she's really happy. Anytime a person is this happy, it's like there's something wrong with them. College and living with ten boys had conditioned Linka to be realistically cynical, and, truthfully, Jordan's leaving all those years ago didn't help much.

So this was pretty new for her. Being the one carelessly wandering along a street, practically frolicking with the way she feels like she's weightlessly floating along, rather than being the one laughing at such a person.

And she'd laugh with Jordan. The girl who, ironically enough, makes her feel so free.

She comes to the park entrance, and speedily makes her way along as she checks the time again. 5:11. Late enough for some of Jordan's signature chop-busting. Which, really, would happen anyway. It's a win-win situation with her, which seems to be the new norm.

Perfect timing. The song playing in her earbuds comes to a close as she walks through the park grass over to the pavilion by the viewfinders, just as Jordan instructed her to do.

The French braided brunette is seated at the table, a downcast expression resting on her tired face.

Dang, maybe Linka should've tried to make it a little earlier after all.

She takes out her earbuds and puts them away as she starts to jog over. She stops herself though. No need to seem too spazzy, even if they did share a bed last night.

And there lies Girl Jordan with a serene smile on her face. She looks worn down from a long day of work and Saturday class, but not enough to keep her from enjoying the last days of summer weather, the ones that slowly bleed into autumn.

The first time Linka ever saw the girl, she felt something similar. It was the nervousness that comes with meeting anyone new. Without a first impression, nothing could make sense.

But then, she saw a smile just like this one, and she knew then and there that she was worth getting to know.

If only she knew then what she knew now. Maybe she would have tried harder to stay in touch.

But it doesn't matter. They're here now, and Jordan looks up to see her friend coming over.

"Hey gorgeous," she greets.

Gosh… That makes Linka blush.

"Hey," she simply says, preening her hair behind her ear as she sits down Indian style by the brunette. As promised, there's a picnic basket full of deli delicacies, and to the side of it, a Bluetooth speaker playing…

 _*Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight… Lead me out on the moonlit floor… Lift your open hand, strike up the band, and make the fireflies dance silver moon's sparkling… So kiss me…*_

Of course.

"What's up with you?" Jordan playfully asks.

Linka softly shakes her head. "Nothing. Just… You're funny," she almost thoughtlessly says.

Jordan teasingly furrows her brow. "What? I'm funny for trying something nice for once? Jeez. I swear I've spoiled you," she jokes.

"On what? Snarky comments and food?" Linka ripostes.

Jordan thinks it over. "Yup."

Linka laughs. "Yeah… That's why I keep you around," she says as she opens up the picnic basket to grab herself a snack.

Jordan just watches her for a moment, blissfully resting her head on her hand.

Linka doesn't say anything as she takes a bite of a sandwich that was packed for her, but after a few seconds, she can't help but laugh with a cheekful of food.

"What?!"

Jordan simply smiles. "Nothing. You're just funny."

* * *

After getting their bellies full, discussing the latest season of their favorite show, and debating over whether or not the rocker is cooler than the jock, the girls rest on their backs, looking up to the clouds.

It's been nice. As expected, jokes were made, stories were shared about loved ones and experiences from the day,

And yet, nothing has been said about the night before. Sure, Jordan was acting a little… different. Like, she wasn't acting like it never happened, but she wasn't pressing on it, either.

Her eyes were glossier than usual, though. And her smiles and laughs were more frequent. She was clearly happy, but…what did it all mean?

The only bad thing about all of it, for Linka Loud at least… was the thought burrowing it's way into her mind.

" _Should I say something?"_

She keeps it to herself as they lie side by side, watching the sky shift and shape into anything they find desirable. No matter what Linka sees though, it can't distract her from the girl by her side. Here, there, anywhere; this was one unchanging variable in her crazy life.

She was crazy about Jordan, and whatever this feeling she got from being with her.

After an ad for Dr. Gregger, the "superior soft drink," finishes up, the familiar harmony of a guitar strumming plays over the speaker, and a woman begins singing.

 _*When I was younger I saw my daddy cry, and curse at the wind… He broke his own heart and I watched, as he tried to reassemble it…*_

 _*And my momma swore that she would never let herself forget… And that was the day that I promised I'd never sing of love, if it does not exist, but darlin'...*_

 _*You… are… the only exception…*_

Normally, Jordan would make some snide remark about how lame something so sickeningly sweet is. But she doesn't. She just smiles more as she looks up to the sky above.

"You know what I'm thinking about right now?" Jordan asks.

" _What? Last night was amazing? We should do it again tonight? And every night after this?"_ Linka wants to respond. Instead, she buries that down deep, and settles for the following.

"What?"

Nice work Linka.

Jordan looks to her now with those amber eyes of hers, the ones that shine with her diamond smile.

"After this, we should go check out Gus' Games N' Grub," she answers.

Linka raises her brow. That was unexpected. "The arcade? You mean like, the one back home? In Royal Woods?"

Jordan rolls her eyes as she sits up. "No, the one in Argentina. Yes, the one back home, you idiot!" she playfully tells her.

Linka considers it for a moment before sitting herself up as well.

"So, wait. You mean you want to drive all the way to Royal Woods just to go to the old arcade?"

"Well, not _just_ to go to the arcade. But yes. I wanna go home tonight," Jordan explains.

Was she being serious? It's so hard to tell anymore. But Linka decides to play it off like she isn't, simply because it's easier for her.

"You're crazy," she says.

"I'm not crazy," Jordan responds with widening eyes.

Okay, she _is_ serious.

"You're so crazy!" Linka retorts through stifling laughter.

Jordan meets her with incredulousness. "Is it really though? I mean… It's a Saturday night, we don't have anywhere to be tonight. I say let's do it!" she excitedly says, standing up now.

"I don't know, Jordan…" Linka says with a downcast expression.

Jordan smirks. "Come on! We can take turns driving. You need practice anyway. You suck."

A heaviness comes over Linka. Why did she suddenly feel so wrong? Was it really because she felt a duty to stay behind and get caught up on homework?

Would she feel this way if last night had not of happened?

"You're guilt tripping me now," she says, the wind taken from her.

Jordan deflates as well, the glossiness in her eyes changing into something somber.

"No. No I'm not…" she states. "Linka… God…"

She walks away, and over to the nearby veranda where the viewfinders can be found. The sudden display of despondence weighs on Linka now, filling her with an unpleasant new discomfort.

"What?" she simply asks Jordan, just audibly enough to he heard.

"I hate feeling like this!" Jordan snaps. But, Linka can sense it. There isn't as much anger in her voice as there is... pain.

"Feeling like what? Are you good?" she asks, now standing up to meet her eye level.

Jordan just stares at her for a moment before forcing herself to look away. She defensively folds her arms, almost shamefully, as she faces the ground.

"I… I suck at this. I really do. I feel like if I try to say anything to you that's not just- you know, messing around... that you're going to think I'm stupid," she confesses.

Seeing the way Jordan closes herself off, hearing her say those words... It brings a actual pain to Linka's chest.

"I don't think you're stupid," she softly says, taking but one step forward towards the other girl.

And for a moment, they're both quiet as they let their words linger in the air. Something has to give. It was time for siege against the pretense, a break for a new understanding.

Linka doesn't overthink it anymore. She just comes out and says it.

"Jordan, what was last night, about? You holding me like that?"

She freezes, anxiously anticipating whatever sort of response Jordan will have for her.

The brunette with the bow in her hair heavily sighs before turning back to face Linka. A blend of pity and woe can be found on her face, but somewhere between the creases of her lips, and the corners of her eyes… there's a hint of desperation. The fear of rejection.

"Did you like it?" she asks, the apprehension trembling in her voice.

Linka is careful not to make haste, but again, she decides there's no sense in overthinking. Honesty and transparency were their friends here.

"I loved it," she admits with a weak smile.

Jordan returns the gesture, but she turns away again, looking out at the people beyond the veranda balcony, heavily sighing once again.

"Linka, can I tell you something kind of important?" she asks.

"Anything, Jordan," Linka tells her with conviction.

She takes a moment to consider her words, and once she has found some inkling of confidence to voice them, Jordan begins.

"For a long time after leaving Royal Woods, I just felt... lost. Like, depressed even. I just didn't feel like I belonged anywhere, and I didn't feel like I could ever be fixed. Something was just broken, and I couldn't be fixed. I really wasn't happy."

She turns back to Linka again, the anguish resonating on her face. But somewhere in those eyes of hers, the ones that have been burned into Linka's dreams… there's what could almost be considered relief.

"But then you came back into my life. It was a feeling… I've never known. I don't know how to describe it. I don't wanna say… You know…" Jordan continues, shrugging, gesturing her hands around, searching for just what she's trying to get to.

But it doesn't matter. Because, Linka already knows. It's the exact same feeling she tries to describe when she rode the bus here, daydreaming of how this day would go. It's the same feeling she got waiting all day to hear from Jordan, thinking of what kind of things they would talk about next. It's the same feeling she got laying in Jordan's bed last night, feeling her forgiving arms wrapped snug around her waist as she drifted off to sleep.

It's a feeling she's come accustomed to, and one she could guess the name of. But it's a label with tremendous weight. One that indicates… they can't go back to the way things were before. For better or worse.

"It's love?"

After the words escape Linka's lips, she steels herself, nearly paralyzed. A million conflicting feelings rush through her nerves, some of them pleasant, but most of them equating to the things that kept her from calling, texting, or _trying_ all together for four long years.

Even so, they had been spoken. There was no turning back now. And, for Linka, there was a great deal of fear in that.

But there was release. It had to be said, it had to be done. She can't hold it back anymore.

They're both silent for a little while. Linka fixes her eyes on Jordan, holding out for her response, but the other girl can't face her. She turns her head anywhere where she can't see those blue eyes beckoning for her.

She eventually turns back to the balcony, and looks out to the world around her once again. Linka can hear her sniffle from where she stands.

"I just keep telling myself to be happy with what we have. I don't want to screw it up," Jordan begins again. "I feel like, no matter what I say or do, I'm going to find a way to ruin things between us. Whatever _this_ is."

She lets out a tired sigh.

"I'm sorry Linka. I know this was supposed to just be a fun little thing. I'm sorry I brought it up. Maybe we can just… pretend it didn't happen…"

"Jordan," Linka softly says, unsure how to accept that, and worse yet- unsure how to let her know there's nothing to apologize for.

But Jordan only seems interested in giving up on the conversation. She doesn't turn back, stubbornly facing forward with a tense posture.

"God… I wonder if any of them even know what we're doing up here," she says regarding all of the people she can see below. "That asian guy probably doesn't even realize I see him picking his nose."

That was to be expected. Linka would have done the same thing. Even when all she wants to do if open up the floodgates and let it all out, she feels the same anxiety.

But for the first time, she doesn't feel alone. In this moment, it's obvious.

Jordan is just the same.

Even if she isn't, even if she's brave enough to stand up to bullies, or the best in the world at dodgeball, or even if she's the idiot who likes vampires more than Smooch…

She couldn't be anymore perfect.

And it was time to let her know that, even if she said she wanted to drop it.

Without a word, Linka timidly steps towards her, ever so cautiously, thousands of doubts racing through her mind. Maybe this would be a big mistake, maybe it wasn't worth taking the risk.

But the one best case scenario seems so clear compared to the rest. Gus' Games N' Grub wasn't so far away, really. And neither is Jordan.

With her heart pounding in her chest, and her cheeks warming up like the last day of summer, Linka paces over to her best friend, admiring her statuesque shape shimmering with the golden hour of the sunset.

Just as Jordan realizes how close the other girl is to her, she feels two arms carefully wrapping around her waist, and a warm embrace pressing against her back.

Linka skittishly looks to the side as she brushes her head against the back of Jordan's neck, feeling her heart drop like a New Year's ball in her chest.

Jordan tenses up, freezing at her touch. "Wh- what are you doing?" she nervously asks.

She's not fighting it. If she was going to, she would have. Like Linka the night before, she's stunned- amazed, even. This was what these feelings were meant to be… everlasting, powerful, spontaneous… and they were supposed to feel good.

"Look at me," Linka quietly says before reaching her hand up to gently cup Jordan's chin. She coerces the girl into facing her once again, this time inches away from her own eyes.

She can see Jordan's flushed cheeks, and her eyes somewhat watering. It brings her a solemn kind of sadness, but not so much sympathy. No, this feeling is mutual.

Maybe it is love.

Done with overanalyzing the doubts, and dwelling on the obstacles, Linka decides to speak from her heart. She was knee deep in the water anyway, so why not try to swim?

"Jordan, I'm so tired of hiding how I feel. I'm tired of it. I don't know what this all means for us, or how it's gonna change things… But I do know one thing…"

She finds herself choking on her words, flustered. She'd find them, of course she would. It was just harder than those corny romance movies made it out to be.

But like those corny movies, Jordan seems to know just what to say.

"What's that?" she weakly says, staring vehemently back into Linka's eyes.

She swallows the apprehension. This was it.

"I care… _so much_ about you. I think about you all the time. When I'm not with you, I think of being with you. All I wanna do is talk to you, and be with you, and just… have all of you. You're the most amazing person I've ever met. You make me feel alive the way I never have before…"

"Linka…"

"I'm so scared to say any more…" Linka admits, her own eyes welling up just slightly.

Jordan carefully releases herself from Linka's arms, and takes her pale hands in her own. She holds her fingers against hers, rubbing her thumbs across her knuckles as she looks down to them.

She looks back into her eyes again, and softly smiles.

"Thank you."

Linka raises a brow. "For what?"

Jordan sighs. "For feeling the same way…"

She serenely closes her eyes, as if to savor the words, before opening them to cast them upon her… whatever she was now. Friend, best friend… _Something_ _else…_

"I know I'm the biggest idiot in the world, and I'm just one stupid joke after another. But, Linka… There's no one I've ever been able to be myself around the way I have with you. I'm not sure it's healthy, even," she jokes. Because, of course she would.

But it makes Linka smile wide. _Because of course she would._

She nervously preens her hair behind her ear before taking Jordan's hand again, and for a moment, they just gaze at one another, studying their smiles, admiring their eyes, reaching a new connection they only dreamed possible with their hands held together.

The enjoy the calm silence for a moment, perhaps to consider their professions of feelings, maybe just to appreciate how real it's become.

But, it's Linka and Girl Jordan after all…

"You're so gay," Linka flirts, and they both laugh.

"News flash, Loud. So are you," Jordan says.

The laughter wanes, but the smiles do not. After a moment longer to cherish this moment, Jordan warmly welcomes her arms around Linka, and Linka returns the gesture with a hug of her own.

It's an amazing embrace.

But Jordan takes it a step further. After just the slightest hesitation, she decides to give herself just enough room to look at Linka's beautiful face one more time before kissing her forehead.

Linka beams from ear to ear as she feels her soft lips pressing against her head, blushing all the while.

Jordan finishes the kiss, then leans back to meet Linka's eyes once more. "So… All that stuff aside, what do you say?"

It doesn't register for poor Linka just what she even means, and she isn't shy to let her know.

"Huh?"

Jordan rolls her eyes. "Do you wanna go home?"

Linka ponders her suggestion. No, she doesn't mean their crummy dormitory fifteen minutes away. She means their home of Royal Woods, where their old friends and family are, where Gus' Games N' Grub can be found, where they spent the best years of their lives playing _Don't Look At Me._

And... playing a secret game of _Look At Me f_ or so long.

Sure, maybe it was crazy. And maybe it was irresponsible. But it would fun and exciting, just like even the smallest activities with Jordan were. And it could be the start of the first of many adventures.

Spending nights together, catching up with those friends and family, filling them in on what they did spending so much time with one another…

Finding out what to call it, or mustering the courage to admit what it really was that they both knew.

Love.

…

No matter what would happen though, it was all certain now. Nothing could get between Linka and her karate kicking, French braid wearing, tasteless nerd of an other half in Girl Jordan.

And that was all that mattered anyway.

"Royal Woods… Here we come," she answers.

Jordan smiles at that, and Linka does too. The brunette frees one of her hands to check the phone in her pocket though, and smirks upon seeing the time.

"Alright. But, ya know, we got all night. Maybe we can just… hang out here for a bit. Enjoy the sunset a little longer," she suggests.

Linka pretends to think it over with a mock thoughtful expression, then shrugs. "Eh, sure. You know I love a good view," she says with a grin.

Jordan smiles at that too, then wraps her arms back around Linka before they turn to face the horizon.

And damn if it isn't the most perfect sunset there ever was.

Damn if it wasn't the most perfect _moment_ there ever was.

So perfect in fact, that it was begging for that Midas touch that only Linka and Girl Jordan could provide one another. The white haired girl knows just what to say, just how to show the girl holding her how much she really cares, and how much things could change.

For the better.

She turns her head just enough to look back to Jordan.

"Don't look at me," she says with a sly grin.

Jordan laughs, "I hate you!" she jokes with one of the widest smiles Linka has ever seen from her.

She just faces the golden horizon again, allowing herself to bask in the glory of making Jordan smile the way only she can.

"Good."

THE END.


End file.
